


Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough

by yurianimeotaku



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Implied Rape/Non-con Chloe Beale/Chicago Walp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-07-13 21:27:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 44,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16026311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yurianimeotaku/pseuds/yurianimeotaku
Summary: This FEMSLASH AU is the result of throwing all three movies, the canon timeline and characters in a paint can, adding zombies, some colorful language and setting the paint can shaker on HIGH.





	1. “But what if all the tranquility, all the comfort, all the contentment were now to come to a horrifying end?” - Franz Kafka

**Author's Note:**

  * For [e_m_praetorian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/e_m_praetorian/gifts).



> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: This is for my wonderful girlfriend who is a fan of “Pitch Perfect” and loves me in spite of my current obsession with horror manga.

AUBREY!! 

Stacie screamed, bolted upright in bed, and fought to get her labored breathing under control. After she calmed herself down, she headed to the bathroom to take a shower and try to forget. As the warm gentle spray washed away the sweat, she reflected on the nightmare that jolted her from a deep sleep; the same nightmare she had almost every night since the day the megalomaniac president’s unhinged actions caused hell on earth. 

                                                                                      

Two years ago, Stacie Conrad was a happy-go-lucky Barden University student singing with the Barden Bellas and having the time of her life. One day, while she was studying in the library, she overheard a conversation that changed her life.

_“Yeah, it looks like the rumors are true. The military is developing a virus that will regenerate the dead.”  
_

_“NO FUCKING WAY!!”  
_

_“HEY! Keep it down. Yes, fucking way. Dude, they’re trying to create a zombie army.”  
_

_“Oh hell no! That’s fucking stupid!”  
_

_“Well, we have an idiot for president who is surrounded by a bunch of warmongers.”_

Normally Stacie would ignore stuff like that, but something in the two young men’s tone of voice sent her down the rabbit hole. After doing her own research, she began to formulate a survival plan. She was surprised to find a survivalist living in the woods near the university. According to her research, the man was more than ready for an impending civil war. For months, Stacie quietly did her research and planning while keeping up her cheerful façade whenever she was with the Bellas.

 

One day, Aubrey noticed something was off with the usually cheerful Stacie, so she waited until after practice to play mother hen. While the Bellas were heading out of the practice room, Aubrey asked Stacie to stay behind. Unbeknownst to the leader of the Bellas, Stacie was nursing a rather big crush on the blonde, so when Aubrey asked her to remain after practice, Stacie was in a complete tizzy by the time everyone cleared out. 

Stacie internally told herself to keep calm and above all else, do not do anything stupid. Aubrey sat down and motioned for Stacie to join her. The nervous young woman plopped down in the seat next to Aubrey, trying to be cool, calm, and collected. She ended up painfully sitting on the armrests between two seats. 

“Are you alright?” Aubrey asked, concerned. 

Stacie just nodded her head, not trusting her voice. After she was seated in the seat next to Aubrey, the blonde spoke. 

“Stacie, I noticed your singing was a bit off today. Is there something wrong?” 

Stacie shook her head and she internally debated whether or not to disclose the real reason for her distraction. 

“Are you sure? You can tell me. I promise to keep it between us,” Aubrey assured and placed her hand on top of Stacie’s for emphasis. 

Stacie suddenly felt like she was underwater and could feel her heart beating in her ears. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. 

“What?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie shook her head. 

“Are you _absolutely_ certain there is nothing you need to talk about?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie nodded and stared at the floor. Aubrey caught the deflection and waited for Stacie to look at her. As soon as their eyes met, the smitten brunette knew she was doomed. She swiftly assessed the situation and decided to throw caution to the wind. 

“Aubrey?” Stacie softly asked, never breaking eye contact with the blonde. 

Aubrey swallowed the lump in throat, “Y…y…yes?” 

The shy stammering and bright blush gracing Aubrey’s cheeks emboldened Stacie to take a chance. She knew if she was wrong, it would mean the end of her time with the Bellas, but if she was right… 

“Are you in love with anyone?” Stacie cautiously proceeded. 

Aubrey silently stared at the floor. After several nerve-wracking minutes of silence for Stacie, the blonde finally nodded her head. 

“Is it someone at Barden?” Stacie asked. 

Aubrey nodded, still staring at the floor. 

“A guy?” 

Aubrey shook her head, never looking up. Stacie’s heart flew up into her throat, hindering her ability to speak. 

“Someone in the Bellas?” Stacie croaked. 

After more nerve-wracking silence, Aubrey finally nodded, causing the hope in Stacie’s heart to soar. The level-headed brunette silently scolded herself and took a deep breath. She dreaded the idea of having to run through the entire roster of current members, so after serious consideration, she started with the most obvious choice. 

“Is it Chloe?” Stacie sadly sighed. 

Aubrey suddenly looked up and exclaimed, “HOW DID YOU KNOW?!” 

The agitated blonde then proceeded to babble rapid-fire questions at Stacie, which the stunned brunette understood two or three at most, so she decided to remain silent and let Aubrey babble. Just as the babbling came to an end, Beca walked in. 

“Hey guys, what’s up? Why are you still here?” Beca asked. 

Stacie shot out of her seat as if it suddenly caught fire, said something incoherent in response, and ran out of the practice room. Beca watched Stacie’s departure in utter confusion. 

“Hey Posen,” Beca stated as she walked over to retrieve the item she forgot earlier. 

Beca waited for the snarky comeback from Aubrey. When she did not hear one, she looked at Aubrey, who looked lost and confused. Deciding to let sleeping Bellas lie, Beca shrugged her shoulders and left the practice room. On the way out, she half expected to see Stacie but found Chloe instead. 

“Hey Chlo, did you forget something too?” Beca asked. 

“No, Amy said I might find you here,” Chloe answered. 

“What did you need?” Beca absently asked as she stared at Jesse headed towards them. 

Chloe followed Beca’s line of sight to see what was diverting her best friend’s attention. 

“Is he drunk? It’s the middle of the day,” Chloe huffed. 

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t normally drink in the middle of the day,” Beca answered as she focused her attention on Jesse. 

As Jesse got closer to them, Beca’s eyes widened in shock. 

“SHIT! CHOLE RUN!” Beca screamed as she pulled on Chloe to come with her. 

Beca pulled them back into the practice room and slammed the heavy door shut. As she frantically tried to lock it, Chloe finally came to her senses. 

“Beca! What’s happening?!” Chloe screeched. 

“HELP ME FIGURE OUT HOW TO LOCK THIS FUCKING DOOR!” Beca yelled. 

The two best friends figured out how to lock the heavy door and ran into the practice room, where they found Aubrey, still sitting in the same position Beca left her earlier. 

“AUBREY!” Beca yelled. 

When she did not respond, Beca yelled, “POSEN!” 

Aubrey looked through Beca. The frustrated little brunette shook her head and rolled her eyes. 

“Beca, what was wrong with Jesse?” Chloe asked. 

“I have NO fucking idea, but whatever it is, it’s NOT good. Did you see his face?” Beca answered. 

“What face? Half of it was…” Chloe began shaking.

“Gone,” Beca finished.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. “No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” – Buddha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I received my girlfriend’s “thumbs up” on this piece, so my muse has decided to grace me with her company.

While Stacie dried herself off, she muttered, “Damn it! I went over. Looks like I get a short shower tomorrow.” After dressing for the day, she headed to the kitchen. She grabbed the coffee can and grumbled when she realized it was empty. The now grumpy brunette made herself a vegetable omelet and settled for tea. 

Sitting at the kitchen table, Stacie mused, “Looks like I need to pick up coffee today.” She put a forkful of omelet in her mouth and mentally prepared herself for her run to town. After breakfast, she washed her dishes and walked to the bedroom to suit up. As she strapped on her armor and weapons, she thought back to the day the nightmare started. 

 

Stacie did not stop running from the practice room until her lungs demanded she stop or they would explode. When she stopped and looked around, she found herself on the outskirts of the campus. Exhausted, she collapsed against a tree and roughly wiped the tears from her eyes. After a few minutes of sitting in the shade, trying to catch her breath, she heard what sounded like Amy screaming for help. She got up and cautiously headed towards the screaming. A few minutes later, she came upon what looked like Bumper and Amy making out on the ground, except for the fact Amy was screaming. Bumper was on top of her, so Stacie could not clearly see what was happening. She crept closer to the couple to get a better look and suddenly lurched backward when she saw the reason why Amy was screaming. Bumper was biting Amy’s face, tearing off chunks of flesh, and eating it. Stacie slowly backed away from the gruesome scene and once she felt she was far enough away, she bolted towards the Bella house. 

“DAMN IT! IT STARTED!” Stacie cursed. 

She knew she had to get to her room and grab the bug-out pack she prepared. As she got closer to the Bella house, she used her dancer skills to bob and weave through the waves of people trying to escape and the zombies pursuing them. When she arrived at the Bella house, Stacie was surprised to find it empty, eerily empty. She grabbed her pack and fled. From the Bella house, she sprinted towards the practice room. The practice room door was open when she arrived, so she pulled out the machete from her pack and cautiously headed inside. She paused just inside the door and listened for any sounds…human or otherwise. It was deathly quiet, so she headed in. There was blood splatter everywhere. Stacie fell to her knees and softly wept. She was jolted back to reality when a noise came from inside one of the lockers. Stacie readied her machete and crept over to the locker. Someone or something was trying to get out of the locker, but could not open it. Stacie tightened her grip on the machete’s handle, pulled open the locker door, and something fell out. She was about to bring the machete’s extremely sharp blade down when Beca’s voice cut through Stacie’s fury. 

“STACIE! IT’S BECA AND CHLOE!” 

Stacie blinked a few times before lowering her machete. She fell to her knees and hugged her two friends. 

“What happened here?” Stacie asked. 

“Let’s get the hell out of here first,” Beca suggested. 

“Where’s Aubrey?” Stacie asked. 

“I don’t know,” Beca answered. 

“What do you mean, “I don’t know?” Stacie ground out through clenched teeth because she did not want to yell. 

“I don’t fucking know. After those _things_ pushed through the front door, Chloe and I ran inside the locker. We heard a bunch of noise and screams, but not Aubrey’s,” Beca reported. 

“We need to get out of this death trap,” Stacie stated, “Hopefully we’ll find Aubrey on the way.” 

Beca finally took a good look at Stacie and said, “Dude, you’re totally ready for this.” 

Stacie nodded her head and led them out of the practice room towards the Bella house. As they successfully slashed their way to the house, Stacie realized all the hours she invested in preparation and training was not wasted. They found a bloodbath inside the house. Stacie made quick work of dispatching the zombies and called out for Aubrey. 

After a minute of silence, Stacie instructed, “Throw some clothes and toiletries in a bag…and don’t take forever.” 

A few minutes later, Beca and Chloe were packed and ready to leave. As they were about to walk out the door, they heard someone call out to them. 

“Wait for me.” 

All three of them turned and saw Aubrey struggling with a suitcase in her hand. 

Beca stormed over to Aubrey, got in her face, and growled, “Damn it, Posen! What the hell have you been doing all this time?” 

Stacie swiftly put herself between Beca and Aubrey, “We do NOT have time for this petty bullshit!” She then grabbed Aubrey’s suitcase and motioned for them to head out. The three young women silently followed Stacie into the woods. After about an hour of walking, Stacie stopped and instructed everyone to take a break. She handed each one of them a bottle of water from her pack. 

“Stacie, where are we headed?” Chloe asked. 

“We’re going to a survivalist’s compound in the woods. I don’t know what we’ll find once we get there, but it’s our best bet for survival,” Stacie answered. 

After another hour, they finally arrived at the perimeter of the compound, which was a chain link fence braided with razor wire and topped with more razor wire. From her research, Stacie knew the fence was electrified, so she warned her three friends. They worked their way towards the fortified entrance. What they found there shocked all four of them. Lying in a pool of blood was the mutilated body of the survivalist, minus his internal organs. 

“Damn, I guess he didn’t make it inside,” Stacie said. 

She bent down and searched his pockets for the keys to the compound. 

“Got ‘em! Let’s head in,” Stacie announced. 

She gave the keys to Beca and told her three friends, “Go inside while I secure the entrance and outside.” 

When no one moved, Stacie sighed, nodded, and proceeded to secure the entrance and outside, followed closely by her three friends. She softly chuckled to herself as thoughts of quail popped into her head. After she was done, she led her three friends to the front door of the fortified house. All four of them stared in awe at the massive metal door before Stacie checked if it was breached. It was still locked, so she unlocked it and led her friends inside. She knew, from her research, the place had one bedroom and no guest rooms.

“There’s one bedroom with one bed,” Stacie stated and then suggested, “Beca, since you and Chloe are besties, you two share the room and bed, okay?” 

Beca nodded and headed in the direction Stacie pointed with Chloe following. 

After Beca and Chloe were out of earshot, Aubrey asked, “So…where are _we_ supposed to sleep?” 

“You can have the den. There’s a sofa bed in there, but I’m not sure how comfortable it is. I’ll sleep out here in the living room,” Stacie answered. 

“No,” Aubrey said. 

“Why?” Stacie asked. 

“You saved our lives today, so you get the den. I’ll sleep out here,” Aubrey adamantly stated. 

After several go-rounds, Stacie won and Aubrey headed to the den. Once she got inside, she ran back and got Stacie. 

With an exaggerated wave of her hand, Aubrey presented the sofa bed to Stacie and cheerfully stated, “Look, it’s a queen-sized sofa bed. We’ll both share the den.” 

Aubrey was busy checking out the den, so she missed the worried look on Stacie’s face.


	3. “A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.” - Edward R. Murrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Further down the rabbit hole we go…

Stacie sat at the workbench in the workshop while she checked and double-checked her weapons and ammunition. She then checked the integrity of her armor. Once everything cleared to her standards, she opened the trap door of the workshop and descended to the basement.

“Good morning Greased Lightning, are you ready for duty today?” Stacie asked the electric motorbike.

Ever since she and Beca found the abandoned electric motorbike, it made supply runs a lot safer and faster. She gave her vehicle the same stringent check she gave her weapons and armor. Once she was satisfied, she mounted her steed, activated the remote for the steel door, and took off down the long tunnel to her destination.

Supply runs used to take half a day on foot, but with her electric partner, they only took a few hours, barring any run-ins. The compound was amazingly self-sustaining, so she usually needed only the barest of essentials. Today’s supply run took two hours with no run-ins.

She dismounted and patted the bike’s seat, “Good work today, partner.”

After plugging in the bike to charge, Stacie took her supplies upstairs to the kitchen.

“Did the run go smoothly?” Aubrey somberly asked while looking out the window, never looking at Stacie.

“Yes, and I brought back several cans of coffee.”

After putting away all her kitchen supplies, she walked to her bedroom to change out of her armor and store her weapons. As she hung up her jacket, her mind wandered back to the day the light went out in Aubrey’s eyes.

After Beca and Chloe put their things away in their bedroom, they joined Stacie and Aubrey in the living room, watching a news broadcast of the chaos and carnage.

“What did we miss?” Beca asked Stacie as she sat down next to her friend on the couch.

 “Is that Barden University?” Chloe asked, incredulous of what she was seeing.

“What’s the presi-dunce’s lie for this mess?” Beca snarked.

Just then, said dunce’s face was on the television screen with more than a dozen reporters’ microphones shoved in his face, demanding an answer to their questions about the recent outbreak. Stacie turned up the volume and the room fell silent.

_“Mr. President, what is happening in Atlanta?”  
_

_“What’s happening in Atlanta?”  
_

_“Don’t you know?”  
_

_“No.”  
_

_“Mr. President, the office of the Secretary of Homeland Security stated you ordered what is currently happening in Atlanta.”  
_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m on my way to a rally there. Atlanta, very fine people who voted for me.”  
_

_At a complete loss for words, the reporters incredulously stared at the president for several awkward minutes before one of the reporter’s yelled, “Mr. President, there is mass chaos and carnage happening in Atlanta right now. Hundreds of people are dying,” which jump-started a new round of questions.  
_

_“So is it true you ordered a military strike with untested biochemical weapons to stop the protest rally in response to your visit?”  
_

_All of the reporters stopped and stared at the reporter who asked the question. While the reporters were distracted, the Secretary of Defense quietly spirited the president back into the White House._

“WHAT?! WHY?!” Chloe exclaimed.

“Who the fuck drops untested biochemical weapons on protesters? That. Is. Just. Fucked. Up!” Beca spat.

The four shocked young women watched the remainder of the news broadcast in complete silence. Stacie stopped paying attention to what was happening on the television screen and began trying to figure out how the virus got to Barden University from the protest site.

After a few minutes, Stacie jumped up and yelled, “SHIT! THAT MOTHER FUCKER!”

“Who?” Beca asked.

Stacie looked through Beca for a few seconds before shaking her head and answering, “Bumper. That asshole brought the virus from the protest site to Barden University.”

“How?” Chloe asked.

Beca answered for Stacie, “Bumper was working security at the protest. Jesse said he was bragging how he was going to meet the presi-dunce.”

“Stacie, how do you know it’s a virus?” Aubrey inquired.

Stacie sighed and told her friends, “Several weeks ago, I overheard a couple of Barden students talking about a new biochemical weapon the military was developing, so I began doing my own research. After I discovered they were telling the truth, I began preparing for the resulting apocalypse. That is how I knew about this place.”

“Were you planning on telling us?” Beca asked.

“Yes and no,” Stacie answered.

“What the fuck is “yes and no?” Beca demanded.

“Yes, I was planning on telling you, but no, not all of you. I knew not everyone would believe me,” Stacie responded and added, “Some of you still don’t believe I have a 5.0 GPA,” as she gave Aubrey a hard look.

Aubrey suddenly found the floor very interesting.

Beca smiled at Stacie and said, “Okay, I believe everything you’re telling us…including the fact you have a 5.0 GPA.” The spunky little brunette added, “Dude…I should’ve come to you for help with my homework.”

“So what do we do now?” Chloe asked.

“We’re safe here. This compound was built and stocked to be self-sustaining in the event of a civil war,” Stacie answered.

“Civil war?! What the hell?!” Beca exclaimed.

“Unfortunately, the man you saw outside, or rather what was left of him, thought a civil war was coming, not a zombie apocalypse, so we’re going to have to make some adjustments here and there,” Stacie explained.

“Is the virus contagious? Is it carried in the air? Are we all infected already?” A now agitated Aubrey rapid-fired.

Stacie took a deep breath and addressed all of Aubrey’s concerns regarding the virus, “My research on the virus concluded it can only be spread through blood contact with an infected person. The virus can’t survive more than a few minutes outside a human host, so unless we’ve been bitten or had sex with an infected person, we’re safe.”

“I wonder how many Bellas survived?” Chloe softly muttered.

“I know for a fact Amy didn’t. I saw Bumper…,” Stacie shook her head.

“Judging by the bloodbath we saw in the Bella house, I don’t think too many did,” Beca added.

“Jessica and Ashley were killed in the house. I saw them from where I was hiding,” Aubrey sobbed.

Chloe sat down next to Aubrey and comforted her friend. She looked at Stacie and asked, “Hey, we need to get this place ready for the zombie apocalypse, right?”

Stacie nodded and ran off to the den. She returned with her notes on the compound and showed them to the others. After formulating a plan of action, they explored their new home. During her exploration, Stacie discovered her notes; which were gleaned from an interview the man did for a survivalist magazine, were now outdated. She found he added several features to the compound after the magazine article was published.

After making a list of all the duties needed to run the compound, Chloe was given the duty of caring for the chickens, which included gathering the eggs, because she was the only one the chickens let get near them without a lot of fuss. Beca was the best fit to monitor the surveillance equipment because of her natural talent with the technology. Of course, Aubrey was given the duty of planning their daily nutrition and exercise. Stacie told her friends she would take care of any supply runs, which was met with a lot of resistance at first, but after she laid out her argument, no one could deny she was the best person for the job.


	4. “The love you can't have, lasts the longest, feels the strongest, and hurts the most.” - unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Things get rather uncomfortable in the compound.

Due to their dire circumstances, Stacie gave them all a one-week learning curve. She made it extremely clear any mistakes, no matter how small, could prove deadly. 

One day, during that chaotic first week, Aubrey was helping Chloe with the chickens, Beca was monitoring surveillance, and Stacie was outside weaving greenery into the perimeter fence, trying to camouflage it. 

“Your next section is clear,” came Beca’s voice through the earpiece Stacie wore in her ear. 

Stacie nodded and moved towards the next section of the fence. She decided to take a break before starting because she had been doing this since sunrise. The now amused brunette softly chuckled to herself as she remembered Beca’s grumpy demeanor after Stacie woke her up at the crack of dawn. 

“What’s so funny?” Beca asked through Stacie’s earpiece. 

Stacie faced the camera pointed at her, pointed at the camera, and replied, “You.” 

Beca rolled her eyes and checked the camera feed from the chicken coop. Everything was normal…a bit too normal for a bored Beca, so she decided to mess with them. She reached over and flipped on the audio feeds from their earpieces. Before she could speak, she heard… 

“Chloe, I just feel you should stay in the den with me,” Aubrey said as Chloe placed the gathered eggs in the basket Aubrey was holding. 

“Aubrey, I told you I have my feelings for Beca under control,” Chloe answered as she walked over to the feed bin. 

As Chloe dipped the scoop into the chicken feed, Aubrey lightly touched the redhead’s arm. 

“It can’t be easy sleeping next to the person you’ve been crushing on since you met her,” Aubrey gently stated. 

Beca’s eyes widened in shock. Her knee-jerk reaction was to turn off their audio feeds, but something inside her wanted to hear Chloe’s response. 

“Well, now that we’re sharing a bed, it’s become a bit more difficult, but the bed is big enough so we don’t have contact during the night,” Chloe poured the chicken feed into the bucket. 

Beca shut down their audio feeds and fell back in her chair. 

“What the hell?” Beca muttered to herself, “Why didn’t I see it? How could I be so stupid?” 

“Because you’re Beca “Effin” Mitchell,” Stacie chuckled from the doorway. 

Beca swiftly spun around in her chair to face Stacie, “Conrad! What the hell?!” 

When Stacie heard her last name, she knew she heard something she was not supposed to hear, so she pretended she did not hear anything. 

“What?” Stacie asked. 

“How much did you hear?” Beca demanded. 

Stacie stealthily glanced at the surveillance monitors. When she saw Chloe and Aubrey in the chicken coop, she immediately knew what was bothering Beca. 

“Just that you’re stupid,” Stacie lied and asked, “Stupid about what?” 

Reflexively, Beca glanced at the chicken coop monitor. Stacie swiftly assessed the situation. She remembered how strongly Aubrey reacted when she thought Stacie knew about the crush the blonde had on Chloe, so she concluded Beca did not overhear Aubrey’s confession to Chloe. Stacie pondered the possibility of Chloe having a crush on Beca and realization dawned in her eyes. She had a choice to make; either go along with whatever lie Beca was trying to come up with or give her a push towards Chloe. Stacie chuckled when an image of having a devil on one shoulder arguing with the angel on the other. 

“What’s so funny _now_?” Beca asked.

“Nothing, just a moral dilemma,” Stacie chuckled. 

Beca could not hide her confusion, even if she wanted to, so she just shook her head. 

“Dude, how is _that_ funny?” Beca asked. 

Stacie adopted a pensive look and pretended to ponder the question. 

“I guess you’re right. It’s not,” Stacie answered in what she privately referred to as her “dumbed-down airhead” persona, the one she used with guys. 

Beca was not the honor student Stacie was, but she knew when someone was bullshitting her and Stacie was definitely bullshitting her. 

“Dude, cut the bull. What the hell is going on?” Beca asked as she suspiciously glared at Stacie. 

Stacie sighed and asked, “So, you heard?” 

“Yeah, I heard,” Beca grumbled. 

“What do you think about it?” Stacie prodded. 

Beca stared through Stacie for several silent minutes while she tried to wrap her brain around being more than friends with Chloe. After three extremely uncomfortable silent minutes of Beca staring through her, Stacie began to wonder if she somehow broke the grumbling brunette. 

At the five minute mark, Stacie could not take the silence any longer and softly called, “Beca?” 

Beca jolted back to reality and shook her head to clear it. 

“I’m not sure how I feel…period,” Beca stated. 

Stacie thought how this was typical Beca Mitchell and decided it was time for a little push. 

“So you don’t have a problem with Aubrey and Chloe together? Wanna bunk with me?” Stacie asked. 

“WHAT?!” Beca exclaimed. 

Before Beca could ask Stacie more questions, Chloe bounced into the room with Aubrey bringing up the rear. 

“The girls are fed, watered, and happy,” Chloe beamed and added, “The eggs are in their kitchen basket.” 

“I should see if I can find some bacon or sausage to go with it during my next supply run,” Stacie added. 

“That would be great,” Chloe smiled and turned to Aubrey, “Doesn’t that sound wonderful?” 

Aubrey, who had been staring at the surveillance monitor screens, specifically the one for the chicken coop, only nodded her head in response. Her anger was coming off her in waves, so Chloe grabbed Aubrey by the arm and pulled her out of the room. 

“Oh shit, she’s mad,” Beca and Stacie said in unison. 

Chloe pulled Aubrey all the way outside to the vegetable garden before she stopped and confronted her friend. 

“WHY are you angry?” Chloe asked. 

“Beca was spying on _us_!” Aubrey yelled. 

Chloe thought Aubrey was being unreasonable and shot back, “That’s her job! The job WE gave her!” 

Aubrey stared down her friend and repeated, “Beca was spying on **_us_** _…_ in the chicken coop.” 

It did not take long before Chloe understood the reason for Aubrey’s concern. 

“Oh. My. God! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to sleep next to her tonight?” Chloe was in full “freak-out” mode and Aubrey knew all she could do is ride it out. 

That night, no one but Stacie got a good night’s sleep. 

The next morning, Stacie was up with the sun. She got ready for the day, made and ate breakfast, washed her dishes, and filled their large coffee tumbler full of strong black coffee, before heading to the bedroom to wake Beca. 

Stacie slowly opened the bedroom door, expecting to find Beca or Chloe sleeping on the floor. She was surprised to find both young women asleep in bed as usual, aside from clinging to the opposite edges of the bed. She walked over and shook Beca. 

“Beca, wake up! We have work to do!” Stacie commanded. 

Beca opened one eye and glared at her. Stacie was amused the grouchy brunette could glare with one eye. 

“Wakey, wakey!” Stacie held up the large coffee tumbler. 

Beca grabbed the tumbler and sat up. She stretched, took a big swig of hot coffee, burned her mouth, and cursed. Stacie knew her friend was now awake and turned to leave. 

“I’ll meet you in the workshop,” Stacie said over her shoulder as she exited the bedroom. 

Beca growled an incoherent response and heard Stacie laughing outside the closed bedroom door. Chloe stirred, causing Beca to panic. Last night was extremely uncomfortable and stressful. Beca knew she did not get enough sleep and she figured Chloe was the same. Rather than have the talk she should have with Chloe, Beca bolted for the shower. 

Stacie was already suited up for a supply run when Beca finally arrived at the workshop. 

“I didn’t know we had a supply run planned for today,” Beca said. 

“We don’t. Today is going to be seriously uncomfortable, so I’m taking you on the supply run with me,” Stacie motioned for Beca to come over and get suited up. 

“Dude, I’ve never done a supply run. What if I fuck up?” Beca asked, her voice full of worry. 

While Beca reluctantly suited up, Stacie searched the weapons cabinet for something she felt Beca could handle with relative ease. 

“Beca, you’ll do fine,” Stacie reassured her and handed her a baseball bat with razor wire wrapped around the end. 

Beca’s eyes widened in surprise, “I’ve seen this on television. Do you think I can _really_ use it?” 

“I don’t expect any run-ins where I’m taking you today, but I’m not taking any chances,” Stacie smiled.


	5. “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” - Mahatma Gandhi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Stacie takes Beca on her first supply run.

Stacie left a note for Aubrey on the kitchen table because she suspected the blonde would wake up before Chloe, and put it somewhere she would definitely find it. She and Beca left through the tunnel in the basement. 

“It’s amazing that guy built all this,” Beca said in awe as she walked with Stacie. 

“Actually, this tunnel is an abandoned part of the city’s sewer system. That’s why there’s no water in this section,” Stacie stated. 

She used the walk to bring Beca up to speed on what to expect once they reached the end of their secured tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, Stacie powered on the video cameras monitoring the area around the entrance. Once she was satisfied the area was clear, she pulled open the thick heavy steel door and cautiously stepped out before Beca. She visually checked the area and listened for sounds. After she was certain it was safe, she motioned for Beca to exit. They exited the tunnel and Stacie secured the door. 

“I wonder if he got that door out of a submarine?” Beca pondered. 

“More like a bank vault,” Stacie smiled and motioned for Beca to follow her. “Try not to talk too much and definitely don’t yell.” 

They walked several minutes in relative silence until they reached a standard looking metal door; the type you would see in an office building. Stacie put her finger to her lips and softly made a shushing noise. She pulled a key out of her pocket, unlocked the door, slowly turned the doorknob, opened the door ajar, and listened. When she did not hear anything, she proceeded through the door with Beca following closely behind. 

Stacie quietly said, “We’re still underground. We have to go up one more level before we reach the surface. The door on that level is the most dangerous one…for two reasons. One, it’s the one to outside and two, it opens outwards.” 

Back at the compound, Aubrey woke up before Chloe. In fact, she woke up about an hour after Stacie and Beca left, so she was the one who found Stacie’s note, just as Stacie predicted. After quickly reading it, she put it in her pocket and started making breakfast for herself and Chloe, who she figured would be waking up soon. As Aubrey slid the second omelet onto a plate, she heard Chloe enter the kitchen. 

“Good morning,” Chloe said as she wiped the remainder of sleep from her eyes and sat down at the kitchen table. 

“Here,” Aubrey placed the plate and a cup of coffee in front of the weary redhead. 

“Thanks,” Chloe drank the coffee as if it were some sort of magic elixir. 

After her second bite of food, Chloe started feeling like herself again. She asked Aubrey where Beca and Stacie were. Per Stacie’s instructions, Aubrey lied. 

“Stacie said she and Beca are doing adjustments in the tunnel all day today,” Aubrey flatly stated. 

Chloe smiled and finished her breakfast. She waited for Aubrey to finish hers and then washed both their dishes. 

“You didn’t have to wash mine,” Aubrey said. 

“You made me breakfast. It’s the least I could do,” Chloe smiled and sat down across from Aubrey, who was still sipping her coffee. 

“Okay…now tell me where Stacie and Beca _really_ went today,” Chloe asked. 

Aubrey choked on the coffee in her mouth. 

When Stacie and Beca reached the dangerous door, they drew their weapons. Stacie pressed her ear against the cool metal door and listened. 

“I don’t hear anything,” Stacie reported. 

“Can you hear through the metal door?” Beca asked. 

“Yes, but barely. We seriously need to find a safer way to the outside,” Stacie said and started to press on the bar to open the door.

Beca stopped her, “Dude…I don’t feel like becoming zombie chow today, so why don’t we look for a safer way now?” 

Stacie nodded and they went in search of other exits. 

As they walked, Beca’s curiosity finally got the better of her and she asked, “Why can’t the zombies get through that last door? It’s unlocked.” 

“Because of the type of handle on the other side. It’s one of those you have to press down on the lever with your thumb and pull open the door. Zombies don’t have the manual dexterity to do that,” Stacie answered. 

“Yeah, but other survivors do,” Beca shivered. 

“Yes, that’s why we need to find as many escape routes on this level…,” Stacie suddenly stopped walking and killed her headlight. 

“Hey…,” Beca began to scold, but Stacie put her hand over Beca’s mouth and pulled her into the shadows. 

Aubrey silently stared at Chloe while she contemplated what to tell her friend. She decided to tell Chloe the truth, rather than jeopardize their friendship by lying. 

“Stacie took Beca on a supply run,” Aubrey stated, trying to maintain a calm tone. 

As expected, Chloe flew out of her chair and began wildly formulating a plan to follow their two friends. Aubrey waited for the redhead to run out of steam, which actually took longer than she first thought. After emotionally sputtering out, Chloe plopped back into her kitchen chair. 

“Finished?” Aubrey asked. 

Chloe nodded and put her head in her hands in defeat. 

“First, you don’t have to worry about Beca. Stacie is more than capable to keep them both safe. Two,” Aubrey handed Stacie’s note to Chloe, “Stacie isn’t taking Beca anywhere dangerous. She took Beca out to give you space to think.” 

Chloe sighed and weakly smiled at Aubrey after reading Stacie’s note. 

“I feel much better now. Thank you. Shall we start our daily duties?” Chloe suggested. 

The two friends began their day. 

Stacie whispered in Beca’s ear, “Shhh…I heard the shuffling of a zombie coming from the end of this corridor.” 

Beca nodded. Stacie slowly removed her hand from Beca’s mouth. 

“Are you sure it’s a zombie and not a survivor?” Beca whispered. 

“I’m not sure, but either one is dangerous,” Stacie softly answered. 

She pulled her trusty machete from her pack, motioned for Beca to stay put, and slowly made her way down the barely lit corridor. As she got closer to the sound of the shuffling, she heard the unmistakable sound of zombie groans. Judging from the sound, Stacie figured there was only one, so she positioned herself and sprang into action. Beca watched in horror as everything played out in the shadows on the walls of the corridor. 

“Damn it, Conrad! You’d better not get yourself killed,” Beca softly growled. 

While Chloe and Aubrey tended to the chickens, one of them slipped by Chloe and ran out the open coop door. She chased it through the backyard into the front yard. The chicken stopped about a foot away from the fence. Chloe did not know how, but somehow the chicken knew not to touch the electrified fence. 

“Silly Chicken Little. You gave me quite the workout,” Chloe lightly reprimanded the bird as she bent down to pick it up. 

She scooped the chicken up into her arms, stood up, and found herself face-to-face with a zombie on the other side of the fence. It lunged for her, causing her to fall back onto her butt. When she hit the ground, she dropped the chicken, which ran back in the direction of the coop. Chloe scooted herself backward on her butt, trying to get away from the fence. As soon as the zombie came in contact with the fence, Chloe watched in horror as the high voltage fried it in front of her. After what felt like an eternity to the traumatized redhead, but was in reality just a few minutes, Aubrey found Chloe and the fried zombie. 

“Come on, we need to get back inside,” Aubrey helped Chloe to her feet. 

As Aubrey helped Chloe to the living room, she heard shuffling coming down the hallway. She immediately pulled Chloe into the den, secured the door, and grabbed the shotgun Stacie gave her. Chloe hugged her knees on the sofa while Aubrey stood in front of the den door, poised to shoot whatever came through it.


	6. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Happy birthday to my awesome girlfriend. This is a “Double Stuff” chapter in honor of her special day.

Although Aubrey could feel her heart pounding in her chest and all her limbs were quaking, she knew she had to conquer her fear and be strong; hers and Chloe’s lives depended on it. In her head, she heard her strict military father demanding she show no fear. She took a deep breath and gripped the shotgun. 

“Stacie? Beca? Is that you?” Aubrey yelled. 

She did not receive a reply. All she heard was dead air, so she repeated herself. After a minute, she heard a faint sound and a thud. 

“Aubrey, help me,” Beca called. 

Aubrey threw open the den door and found Beca kneeling over a battered unconscious Stacie. 

“WHAT HAPPENED?” Aubrey exclaimed and placed her shotgun on the floor as she knelt down next to Stacie. 

“She got jumped,” Beca answered and tried to pick Stacie up off the floor, where she dropped her. 

Aubrey helped Beca bring Stacie into the den. Beca wondered why Chloe was on the sofa hugging her knees but decided not to ask. 

“CHLOE!” Aubrey yelled, “Open up the sofa bed…now!” 

Chloe blinked several times before she realized what was happening. She immediately jumped off the sofa and opened it up into a bed. She helped Aubrey and Beca get Stacie on top of it.

“Beca, get the first aid kit. Chloe, help me get all this gear off Stacie,” Aubrey commanded. 

Aubrey and Chloe had Stacie stripped down to her underwear by the time Beca returned with the first aid kit. 

“Damn,” Beca muttered when she saw all the bruises on Stacie’s body. 

“Beca?” Aubrey held out her hand for the first aid kit and asked, “Who jumped you?” 

Beca sat down at the foot of the bed and growled, “Some asshole.” 

As Aubrey tended to Stacie, she waited for Beca to elaborate, but the brunette just stared at Stacie. Rather than play “Twenty Questions” with Beca and end up frustrated, Aubrey gave a look to Chloe to continue the questioning. 

Chloe got it and asked, “Beca, how did all this happen?” 

“Stacie just finished taking out a zombie we came across,” Beca paused and looked at Stacie with admiration. 

“Beca?” Chloe urged her friend to continue. 

“She was totally badass! You should have seen her!” Beca gushed. 

“Beca…,” Chloe said. 

“Oh…yeah…she just finished off the zombie and was walking towards me,” Beca continued. 

“ _Towards_ you? Weren’t you with her?” Aubrey asked. 

Beca shook her head and said, “She told me to stay put and went to take it out by herself.” 

“Oh,” Aubrey muttered and glared down at Stacie, who was still unconscious. 

“She was walking toward me and this guy jumped her from behind. She fought with him and had him down on his knees begging her for mercy. Of course, she let him go and headed back toward me. As soon as her back was to him, he jumped on her from behind again, but this time he wrapped his arm around her neck and started choking her. I could see she needed help, so I charged at him swinging,” Beca stated. 

“Swinging?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah, me and…,” Beca looked around and realized she left her weapon in the hallway. 

Beca ran out of the den, retrieved her weapon, ran back into the den, and proudly held it up. 

Aubrey and Chloe gasped in unison at the sight of the baseball bat dripping with blood. 

“BECA!” Chloe yelled. 

She quickly dragged Beca and her weapon out of the den towards the bathroom. Aubrey watched Chloe and Beca leave the den before returning her attention back to Stacie. 

Aubrey sighed and muttered, “She’s a handful.” 

“She sure is,” Stacie smiled up at Aubrey. 

“Stacie!” Aubrey exclaimed and uncharacteristically hugged the battered brunette. 

Stacie winced in pain but did not protest until Aubrey touched her ribcage. 

“Oh, sorry,” Aubrey immediately released Stacie. 

Stacie smiled and quietly muttered, “I’m not” under her breath. 

Aubrey continued Stacie’s examination and treatment. In the end, Stacie suffered multiple bruising, including her ribs, but no broken bones or bites. 

After Chloe washed the blood off Beca’s weapon, she told Beca to take a shower and ran the dripping baseball bat to the workshop, where she hung it up to dry. As she headed to the den to check on Stacie, she ran into Aubrey, who was headed to the kitchen. 

“How’s Stacie?” Chloe asked. 

“She is covered in bruises,” Aubrey sighed and added, “I need to get ice for her bruised ribs. She’s awake, so you can go in and see her.” 

When Chloe entered the den, Stacie was lying on her back, glaring at the ceiling. 

“Did a spider make you mad?” Chloe teased. 

Stacie glared at Chloe, causing the perky redhead to squeak in surprise. Immediately realizing her mistake, Stacie smiled at Chloe and apologized.

“Sorry, I’m just mad at myself for letting my guard down. How’s Beca?” 

“Beca and her bloody bat are fine. She’s taking a shower and her _friend_ is drying in the workshop,” Chloe reported. 

Stacie furrowed her brow in confusion and stared at Chloe. 

“I’ll let Beca explain it to you,” Chloe smiled and left to get Beca. 

Aubrey entered the den as Chloe walked out. 

“Okay, I have the ice packs for your ribs. I made a holder for them, so…,” Aubrey held out the makeshift ice pack bandage. 

Stacie slowly sat up and raised her arms. Aubrey attempted to apply the ice pack bandage but realized Stacie’s bra was in the way. The blonde placed the bandage on the bed. 

“Excuse me,” Aubrey apologized, reached around Stacie, and unhooked the brunette’s bra. 

Aubrey looked up at the ceiling as she removed Stacie’s bra. Stacie chuckled at her and instantly regretted it when her bruised ribs gave her a painful reminder. Once Stacie was bandaged up, Aubrey helped her back into bed. 

“You rest. It will take about three to four weeks before your ribs are better,” Aubrey said before leaving the room. 

Stacie sighed and continued glaring at the ceiling. 

A few minutes later, a freshly showered Beca entered the den with Chloe in tow. 

“Hey Badass Conrad!” Beca cheerfully called. 

“What?” Stacie asked. 

“Dude, you were a total badass back there!” Beca exclaimed. 

Stacie looked away and shook her head. 

Beca plopped down on the edge of the bed next to Stacie, “You were!” 

The movement of the bed caused Stacie to wince in pain. Beca immediately jumped up and apologized.

“It’s okay Beca. I’m glad you didn’t get hurt,” Stacie weakly smiled. 

Beca smiled and said, “As long as I have my two friends with me, I’ll be fine!” 

“Two?” Stacie asked, confused. 

“Yeah. You and…,” Beca trailed off in thought. 

“Your baseball bat?” Stacie suggested. 

Beca nodded and said, “She needs a name. Like the one on television.” 

Stacie watched in amusement as Beca’s thought process played out on her face. After a few minutes, Beca snapped her fingers. 

“I got it! I’ll call her “Ethel!” 

Stacie asked, “Why?” 

“Because every “Lucy” needs an “Ethel,” Beca laughed. 

Stacie did her best not to laugh with Beca but ended up snorting, which was more painful than laughing. Chloe, who had no idea what her two friends were talking about, just looked at them in confusion. When Beca saw Chloe’s confused expression, she explained the joke to the redhead. Chloe did not really get the joke but laughed anyway. Beca sat down on the floor and motioned for the redhead to join her. After she sat down, Chloe listened in rapt awe as Beca related what happened to the crazy survivor. 

“So he was keeping the zombie as a pet?” Chloe asked, completely incredulous. 

“Not so much a pet, but for camouflage and protection, like on the television show,” Beca explained. 

“You two keep talking about this _television show_. I’ve never seen it, so I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chloe complained. 

“I wonder if we can get DVDs of the show on our next supply run?” Beca asked Stacie. 

“I won’t be making any supply runs for about a month,” Stacie sighed. 

“I can go!” Beca excitedly offered. 

“NO!” Stacie and Chloe yelled in unison.

Beca glared at her friends and snarked, “Thanks for the support guys.” 

“Beca? Did you secure all the doors on the way back?” Stacie asked. 

“Yes. I locked the metal door with the key and the tunnel door with the remote. See, I can be responsible,” Beca beamed and handed Stacie the keys. 

“Thanks! You did an excellent job today. Also, thank you for saving my life,” Stacie praised and thanked Beca. 

Beca popped up and declared, “NO ONE messes with the friends of Beca Effin Mitchell!” 

Stacie and Chloe smiled. Beca plopped down next to Chloe. 

“Where did you put the guy’s body?” Stacie asked. 

“I used your machete because the guy was too heavy for me to carry and threw the parts down a nearby shaft,” Beca reported and added, “I left the zombie parts as a warning to other asshole survivors like that guy since it won’t attract other zombies.” 

Stacie turned to Chloe and asked, “Did anything unusual happen here?” 

“Other than Chicken Little getting out of the coop, not really,” Chloe sighed. 

“And the fried zombie on the fence,” Aubrey added as she walked in the den with a dinner tray for Stacie. 

Stacie and Beca watched in stunned silence as Aubrey set up Stacie’s dinner. After the blonde pulled a chair up next to the bed, Beca finally exclaimed. 

“Fried zombie?” 

Aubrey smiled and answered, “Yes, the fried zombie still on the fence.” 

“Did it flip the fence breaker?” Stacie asked, extremely concerned. 

“No, I checked and it’s fine,” Aubrey answered and motioned for Stacie to eat her dinner. 

“Beca, please get rid of it the same way we got rid of the survivalist’s remains, okay? And as soon as possible, so it doesn’t attract any survivors,” Stacie requested. 

Beca jumped up and ran out of the den. Stacie sighed and shook her head. 

“At least she’s enthusiastic about her duties now,” Aubrey smiled. 

“Yes, but that’s what worries me,” Stacie put a forkful of pasta in her mouth. 

“Don’t you think it’s too dark outside right now?” Chloe asked. 

Stacie looked out the window. 

“It looks like she’ll have about an hour or two until sundown. Could you go help her?” Stacie asked Chloe. 

Chloe internally weighed her fear with her desire to keep Beca safe. After a minute, she stood up, smiled, and left the den to help her friend. 

When Chloe got outside and offered her help, Beca refused. After she reminded Beca of the approaching sundown, she agreed to let Chloe help on one condition…the redhead would not handle the zombie. Chloe agreed and offered to bring up the cart, the one they used to transport the survivalist’s remains. While she was off retrieving the cart from the basement, Beca used Stacie’s machete to dismember the fried zombie. When Chloe arrived with the cart, Beca threw in all the parts and wheeled them down to the incinerator. After emptying the cart, Beca powered on the incinerator and returned to the fence. She and Chloe repaired the disturbed section of fence. With Chloe’s help, everything was cleared, disposed of, and repaired long before sundown. 

The two exhausted girls headed to the showers. Freshly showered and famished, they headed to the den to find Aubrey, since the blonde was in charge of making their meals. Beca remembered she forgot something in the bathroom, so she told Chloe to go ahead. 

When the redhead stepped into the den, she found Aubrey standing at the side of the bed, leaning over Stacie. She immediately apologized and started to back out of the den. 

Aubrey turned around and asked, “Sorry for what?” 

Chloe saw the gauze and tape in Aubrey's hands and nervously chuckled. 

“What’s so funny?” Aubrey asked. 

The embarrassed redhead shook her head and asked, “Beca and I are starving. What’s for dinner?” 

“And don’t say vegetable soup,” Beca added. 

Aubrey sighed and turned back to Stacie to finish changing the bandage on the brunette’s forehead. While she was treating Stacie, without turning around she asked, “Beca, why would you think I’m serving vegetable soup for dinner?” 

“Because that’s what you brought Stacie earlier,” Beca answered. 

“Beca, that wasn’t vegetable soup. It was pasta,” Aubrey stated and added, “I made meatballs for you and Chloe…to go with the pasta.” 

“Why didn’t I get any meatballs?” Stacie whined and pouted. 

“Sorry, I’ll bring you some later, okay?” Aubrey offered. 

Chloe watched her two friends interact and suddenly felt like she was intruding on an intimate moment. She shook her head to clear it. 

Aubrey turned around just in time to catch Chloe’s head shake, but chose to ignore it and stated, “I’m almost done here. You two go set the table. Just because we’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, doesn’t mean we have to forego civility.” 

Beca and Chloe dashed out of the den like two kids on their way to the candy store. Aubrey shook her head and sighed. 

“There…all done. Do you need anything before I go feed the children?” Aubrey laughed. 

“Do we have any painkillers?” Stacie asked. 

“I didn’t see any in the kit, but we have the guy’s stash of alcohol. I can bring you a glass of whatever is strongest,” Aubrey offered. 

“Thanks,” Stacie smiled. 

Aubrey, who had eaten dinner earlier, served her two famished friends, reminded them to wash their dishes, and then walked over to the locked liquor cabinet. She pulled the key from her pocket, read the labels on the bottles inside, and chose one. She broke the seal on the bottle and poured a tall glass for Stacie. She sealed the bottle, returned it to the cabinet, and locked it. On her way to the den, she grabbed the plate of meatballs in the kitchen and continued to the den. 

She knocked on the den door before entering. Stacie had her eyes closed, so Aubrey thought she was asleep. 

“Stacie?” Aubrey softly called. 

Stacie stirred, opened her eyes, and smiled. 

“I brought your meatballs and _painkiller_. Do you still want them?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie smiled and nodded. She cleaned off her plate of meatballs but did not touch her liquid painkiller. Aubrey left the glass with Stacie and took the plate to the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Beca’s and Chloe’s dishes in the drying rack. Aubrey wondered where the two scampered off to since it was still too early for bed. She washed Stacie’s dish and settled on the living room couch with the book she was currently reading. Five minutes later, her two missing friends walked into the living room, engaged in a rather loud discussion. 

“Trust me Chlo. You’ll love it,” Beca said. 

“I will not,” Chloe adamantly denied. 

“You will,” Beca assured. 

“I. Will. Not,” Chloe argued. 

Aubrey loudly cleared her throat in hopes of getting them to stop. Beca and Chloe abruptly stopped walking and ended their animated discussion as well. They decided to join Aubrey in the living room. Beca flopped down in one of the two over-stuffed chairs. Chloe sat next to Aubrey on the couch, which, for some reason, agitated Beca. 

“Is it a good book?” Chloe asked Aubrey. 

“For the most part, but it’s not something I would buy myself,” Aubrey closed her book and placed it on the table next to her. 

Instinctually, Beca grabbed the television remote and turned it on. Surprisingly, there was an audio news broadcast playing. All three young women listened intently. 

_“We will be broadcasting on this emergency channel in hopes of finding more survivors. If you are receiving this broadcast, please stay inside your homes and do **not** venture outside for any reason. According to The Department of Homeland Security, a deadly virus has been unleashed on the United States by an unknown foreign enemy. We repeat, do **not** venture outside your homes. The military has dispatched trucks to rescue survivors. Please wait for them.”_

The message, which was on a loop, repeated, so Beca turned off the television. 

“Lying sacks of shit! Foreign enemy my ass!” Beca spat. 

Beca was so angry, she bolted for the training room, which was originally a storage room that Stacie converted into a training room. 

Aubrey and Chloe stayed on the couch and discussed what they just heard. 

“I don’t trust them and I certainly don’t want to be herded into a military facility,” Chloe stated. 

“I was brought up by a grizzled old military man who dedicated his life to the service, but in this case, I agree with you. Beca was right. They lied and are continuing to lie,” Aubrey said. 

They chatted until Beca popped in and told Chloe she was headed to bed. 

“Beca, hang on a minute, I’ll come with you,” Chloe said and bid Aubrey good night. 

After her two friends left the living room, Aubrey headed to the den. She checked on Stacie, grabbed her pajamas, and as she was about to leave, Stacie spoke. 

“Aubrey? You’re not sleeping in the living room, are you?” 

“I think it would be best, considering your injuries,” Aubrey answered. 

“Please stay. I can’t sleep otherwise,” Stacie admitted. 

Aubrey internally debated whether Stacie was telling her a tall tale until she noticed the empty glass on the table next to the bed and knew the brunette was telling the truth. 

“I’ll go get ready for bed and be right back,” Aubrey said and left for the bathroom. 

A few minutes later, Aubrey crawled into bed but made certain not to lie too close to Stacie for fear of jostling her. 

“Thank you,” Stacie said and scooted closer to Aubrey. 

“Stacie, not too close. I don’t want to jostle you and cause you any unnecessary pain,” Aubrey warned. 

“I can’t feel it, so it’s okay,” Stacie smiled and snuggled into Aubrey’s side. 

Aubrey looked at her bedmate’s smiling face and sighed. She knew she could not fight her on this and relaxed. 

“Thank you for taking good care of me today,” Stacie softly said.

“Thank **you** for keeping us safe,” Aubrey answered. 

Stacie leaned in and kissed Aubrey on the cheek, “You’re welcome.” 

Aubrey lay in bed, completely at a loss for what to do. Several minutes later, when she finally turned towards Stacie, the brunette was sound asleep. Aubrey chuckled and closed her eyes.


	7. “Enemies are often former or potential friends who have been denied - or think that they have been denied - something.” - Idries Shah (Reflections)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I guess the last “double stuff” chapter wore out my muse because she just returned from her mini-vacation to Club Muse.

Aubrey doted on Stacie during the brunette’s lengthy recovery; something that did not go unnoticed by Beca and Chloe. The perky redhead thought it was wonderful, but Beca was strangely annoyed. 

One morning, during the third week of Stacie’s recovery, after Aubrey went to care for her patient, Chloe watched Beca grumble and rip her toast in small bits. She internally debated whether to leave Beca alone or inquire what was bothering her best friend. Chloe decided to finish her breakfast and then have a talk with Beca. 

“There…all done,” Chloe announced as she placed her last washed breakfast dish in the drainer with a comedic flourish. 

She turned around to check on Beca’s progress and found her best friend still had a sullen look on her face. All the toast was…toast, scattered on the plate in bird-sized pieces. Chloe made a mental note to take it outside for the birds. 

“Beca?” Chloe asked as she sat down at the kitchen table. 

Beca looked through Chloe, completely lost in thought. The patient redhead waited for a response. After a minute, Chloe had enough. 

“BECA!” 

Beca shook her head to clear it and glared at Chloe, “What?” 

“I was talking to you, but you ignored me,” Chloe explained, suppressing her irritation. 

“Huh?” Beca uttered. 

Chloe’s seemingly endless patience finally ran out. She swiftly stood and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Beca dazed and confused. 

“I would go after her if I were you.” 

Beca incredulously stared at Stacie, who just smiled at her confounded friend. 

“Beca, go after Chloe and apologize,” Stacie urged. 

Two ticks later, Beca bolted out of her seat and ran after Chloe. 

“What was _that_ all about?” Aubrey asked as she entered the kitchen with a tray of empty dishes. 

“The children were fighting,” Stacie laughed and smiled at the dull pain in her side. 

“Is it better?” Aubrey asked, doing her best to keep the concern she felt out of her voice. 

Stacie smiled at Aubrey and lifted up her shirt, “It seems to be.” 

The now flustered blonde huffed, quickly swatted Stacie’s hands, and pulled down the brunette’s shirt. 

“Thanks to your awesome nursing, I can probably go on a much-needed supply run soon,” Stacie happily announced. 

“But not by yourself, okay?” Aubrey urged. 

“Of course not. I think the little spitfire needs one more than our dwindling supplies do,” Stacie laughed. 

Aubrey grimaced and agreed, “Yes, she’s been rather…” 

“HELP!” 

“THAT’S CHLOE!” Aubrey screamed. 

Stacie and Aubrey ran towards Chloe’s cries for help. They arrived at the chicken coop the same time as Beca. Stacie looked at Beca and opened her mouth to speak, but Beca shook her head. 

“WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!” Chloe yelled and pointed towards something outside the fence.

“Chloe, stop yelling,” Stacie ground out, trying not to yell herself, “You’re going to attract _them_.” 

Chloe immediately placed both hands over her mouth, shutting herself up. Stacie looked out in the direction Chloe was pointing earlier and saw a young man leaning against a tree. He was dressed in bloody military fatigues. She watched his movements in order to determine if he was friend or foe. 

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” Chloe whispered next to Stacie. 

“Chloe, his uniform is covered in blood. We don’t know if he’s only injured or been bitten,” Stacie answered. 

She turned to Beca, “Beca, go get my scope.” 

Beca ran into the house, grabbed the scope from Stacie’s backpack, and ran back outside. She handed it to Stacie, avoiding eye contact with Chloe. Stacie decidedly ignored the tension between her two friends. She looked through her scope and checked for bite marks first. There were no bite marks on any of his exposed skin. She then checked his eyes, which were still human. Lastly, she checked his attire and holster. His sidearm was missing and the color of the blood on his fatigues looked old. 

“He looks okay to bring in,” Stacie announced and turned to Beca, “Beca, you and I will go get him. He’s close enough we won’t need to suit up. Grab the wagon, Ethel, and my machete.” 

Beca ran to prep for the retrieval. 

Aubrey placed her hand on Stacie’s arm, “Let me go instead. You’re still healing.” 

“Thanks for the offer, but I need you here with the sniper rifle as back up, just in case things go sideways,” Stacie instructed. 

Aubrey nodded her head and walked in the house to retrieve the sniper rifle. 

Stacie turned to Chloe and instructed, “Chloe, since we don’t have a secured medical facility, you’re going to have to throw one together. Use the small locked room in the basement. I think the survivalist built it to be a holding a cell. Throw a couple of the workout mats in there, along with an extra pillow and blanket,” and handed her the key. 

While Chloe was busy putting together a makeshift triage, the others proceeded with the retrieval. When Stacie and Beca arrived with the wagon, the young man was unconscious, making the process safer for them, but physically straining for Stacie. They loaded him into the wagon and quickly returned to the compound. After they rolled the wagon into the basement, they realized they had another problem to figure out. They did not have any men’s clothes, so Stacie was elected to strip him down to his underwear before placing him in the makeshift bed. She silently hoped he was wearing the standard military green undershirt and matching boxer briefs. She breathed a sigh of relief he was. Stacie gathered the bloody uniform and dumped it in Beca’s arms. She instructed her to wash it and hang it inside to dry. Beca nodded and headed to the laundry room. 

Chloe handed Aubrey the tray of medical supplies. After an external examination, Aubrey confirmed he was not bitten. Since he was unconscious, she would have to wait to check for internal damage. Stacie decided they would watch him in shifts until he regained consciousness. Chloe was up first, so Stacie handed her the taser gun with explicit instructions to use it first and ask questions later. After securing a promise from Chloe, Stacie left and locked the door on the way out. 

Four hours later, Aubrey, followed by Stacie and Beca, arrived to relieve Chloe. Aubrey suspected Chloe would not want to leave the patient, so she brought her a dinner tray. “John Doe,” as they decided to call him, was still unconscious. Stacie suggested Chloe go eat dinner in the kitchen, but she declined. Aubrey offered to stay with Chloe, so Stacie and Beca left. The tender-hearted redhead finished her dinner and left Aubrey to her four-hour shift. Two hours later, Stacie went to check on Aubrey. 

Aubrey looked up from her book and asked, “Has it been four hours already?” 

“No, I couldn’t sleep,” Stacie answered. 

“Did you re-injure yourself?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie shook her head, sat down next to Aubrey’s chair, and leaned against it. As the two young women stared at the unconscious young man, realization dawned on them both at the same time. 

“We should secure him down,” they both said in unison. 

Stacie scanned the small room and confirmed her earlier suspicions when she spotted a heavy chain embedded in one of the walls with a shackle on the end. 

“Earlier today, I told Chloe I thought this room was built to be a holding cell. I was right,” Stacie pointed to the chain. 

She stood, pulled out the room key from her pocket, and tried it on the shackle. It opened, so she placed it around the young man’s ankle and locked it. 

“Now I feel **much** better about leaving you alone with him and we can keep the door open,” Stacie said. 

Two hours later, Aubrey shook Stacie awake, kissed the sleepy brunette on the cheek, and left to get some much-needed sleep. By the time the kiss registered in Stacie’s sleepy brain, Aubrey was long gone. 

“Awww…crap,” Stacie muttered and flopped down in her chair.


	8. “In every man's heart there is a devil, but we do not know the man as bad until the devil is roused.” - James Oliver Curwood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).  
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I find there are good things and bad things about having my muse back.

Four hours later, a sleepy Beca, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, shuffled towards the holding cell for her shift. Under her breath, she cursed Chloe for her lack of sleep because the agitated redhead refused to let Beca sleep until they “talked.” 

After their **long** talk, Beca realized just how much tension had built up between them. Chloe fell right to sleep, but Beca realized she was scheduled to start her shift in an hour and debated whether to ask Aubrey to cover for her. Picturing Aubrey’s smug face, Beca made herself a pot of strong coffee and opted to stay up until her shift. 

As Beca approached the holding cell, she saw the open door and ran to grab Ethel. She cautiously approached the open door and peered inside. 

“You can put Ethel back to bed,” Stacie chuckled and pointed to the shackle around the young man’s ankle. 

Beca exhaled and said, “Dude, you scared me.” 

“Sorry, but I didn’t find _that_ until Aubrey’s shift,” Stacie stood and gave her chair to Beca. 

Since she was not tired, Stacie decided it was a good time to talk to Beca. Once Beca was settled, Stacie sat down on the floor next to her chair. 

After a few minutes of silence, Stacie asked, “Beca, what’s going on between you and Chloe?” 

“Nothing,” Beca muttered. 

“Beca?” Stacie challenged. 

After several long minutes of silence, Beca finally answered, “As I told her last night, I don’t know how to feel about her.” 

“Do you still consider her your best friend?” Stacie asked. 

“Yeah! Of course,” Beca quickly answered. 

“Well, you’re not behaving like it,” Stacie said. 

Beca silently stared at her shoes. 

“Beca?” Stacie called. 

Before Beca could answer, “John Doe” stirred. She grabbed Ethel, who was leaning against the wall next to her and Stacie grabbed the taser. They watched the young man’s eyes flutter open. When he saw the two armed young women, he grabbed the blanket and scurried towards the wall next to him. 

“W…w…w...who are you?” he shakily asked, holding the blanket up like a shield. 

“I’m Stacie,” the now smiling brunette lowered the taser and smiled. 

“Beca,” Beca growled but did not lower Ethel. 

“Beca, go put Ethel to bed and get Aubrey,” Stacie ordered. 

The suspicious brunette eyed the frightened young man and before she could protest, Stacie repeated her order. As she left, Beca gave him a stern two-fingered “I’m watching you” gesture. 

Stacie sat down in the chair and asked, “What’s your name?” 

“Captain Chicago Walp!” the young man announced. 

Stacie thought his serial number would follow, but he stopped short of it. 

“Okay Captain Walp, you’re among friends here,” Stacie softly said and asked, “What happened to you?” 

“My detail was helping a group of survivors when a bunch of those **things** jumped us,” Chicago reported. 

“Do you know if anyone survived?” Stacie asked. 

“I ran to get reinforcements, so I don’t know,” the young man solemnly answered. 

Stacie wondered if he ran to get reinforcements or just ran. Before she could ask another question, Aubrey and Beca walked in. 

“He’s awake,” Aubrey stated. 

“Aubrey, meet Captain Chicago Walp,” Stacie introduced. 

Beca lingered in the doorway with Ethel at her side and glared at Chicago. 

“Captain Walp? May I examine you for internal injuries?” Aubrey asked. 

At that moment, Chicago realized he was dressed in only his underwear and quickly shook his head. 

“I need to finish my examination,” Aubrey gently, but firmly stressed. 

“Eh, I’m not dressed,” Chicago protested. 

“Clothing would impede a thorough examination though,” Aubrey stated. 

Chicago visually scanned the three young women in the room and wondered who undressed him. Aubrey was growing impatient, which her body language was broadcasting loud and clear. 

“Captain Walp, do you enjoy wearing _that_ ,” Aubrey pointed to the shackle on the young man’s ankle. 

Chicago incredulously stared at his ankle, finally taking notice of the heavy shackle attached to it. 

“If you enjoy wearing it, we can skip your examination,” Aubrey stated. 

After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Chicago sighed, lowered his blanket, and nodded his head. Aubrey finished her internal examination and concluded he could be released. Stacie stood to unlock his shackle, but Beca stopped her. 

“Hey! Just because _Springfield_ here passed the physical exams, doesn’t mean he isn’t a threat to our security,” Beca protested. 

“That’s Chicago,” the young man corrected Beca. 

Beca glared at him and grumbled, “Whatever, dude.”

“Beca has a point,” Aubrey agreed. 

Stacie stood and thought for a few minutes before stating, “Okay. I agree. We’ll all get to know Chicago for a few days and then decide whether or not to release him. For now, let’s get some food in him.” 

Aubrey offered to make Chicago’s first meal and left for the kitchen. 

Stacie sat down in the chair and asked him, “How did you get so bloody?” 

“My buddy Zeke was being…,” Chicago swallowed down the bile threatening to come up, “…eaten by those **things** , so I grabbed him and tried to get out of there. We got a few feet away and I realized his leg was missing.” 

“Did he turn?” Stacie asked. 

“Turn?” Chicago wondered. 

“Did he become a zombie?” Stacie clarified. 

“WHAT THE FUCK? ZOMBIES?” Chicago exclaimed. 

Stacie sighed and waited for Chicago to calm down. 

Once he was calm again, Stacie inquired, “Are you okay?” 

“Do you have anything to drink?” Chicago asked. 

Aubrey walked in at that moment with a meal tray and placed it next to him. Stacie noticed the blonde had strapped a sidearm to her waist while she was out. He grabbed the small glass of water, guzzled it, and asked for more. 

“Put some food in your stomach first,” Aubrey ordered. 

The three young women watched in rapt fascination as Chicago shoveled the food into his mouth. After he finished his food, Aubrey poured water into his empty glass, which he swallowed in one go. 

“Could I have the bottle?” Chicago asked. 

“No, I don’t want you to get sick,” Aubrey answered as she filled his glass. 

“I’d be surprised if the food he just scarfed down doesn’t make him sick. I know it made _me_ nauseous to watch,” Beca snarked.

“What’s going on?” Chloe asked from the doorway. 

When she saw the young man was awake, she ran towards her bedroom. 

“What was _that_?” Stacie asked. 

“No idea. Maybe his face scared her?” Beca laughed. 

Chloe returned with a pile of clothes in her arms. 

“Here, I found some men’s clothes in the bedroom closet. They must’ve been that guy’s,” Chloe stated and handed the clothes to Stacie. 

Stacie offered the clothing to Chicago, “I’m not sure if they will fit. The previous owner of this place looked a bit thinner than you, but then again, the zombies didn’t leave much of him to tell.” 

Chicago quickly put on the shirt, which surprisingly fit. He was about to put on the jeans when he remembered he was shackled. 

“Here,” Stacie bent down to unlock the shackle. 

Beca immediately grabbed Ethel and Aubrey placed her hand on the sidearm strapped to her side. Stacie unlocked and removed the shackle. She waited for Chicago to put on the jeans, which were a little short, before locking the shackle back on his ankle. 

“Let us know when you need to use the restroom,” Chloe smiled. 

Chicago nodded. 

“Where’s your unit?” Aubrey asked. 

“They were supposed to be around here somewhere,” Chicago answered and added, “But I couldn’t find them.” 

“Maybe you got turned around in all the chaos?” Stacie offered. 

“Could be, but I can’t imagine getting _that_ turned around,” Chicago retorted. 

Stacie smiled, “Trust me, you can.” 

“Where did you all come from?” Chicago asked. 

“Barden University,” Chloe answered.

“The asshole who brought the virus to the campus and infected everyone was working at the protest,” Beca growled. 

“Virus?” Chicago asked, completely confused. 

“Looks like the army didn’t tell you guys the truth…figures,” Beca shook her head in disgust. 

“An experimental virus was unleashed on the protesters,” Stacie stated. 

“By who?” Chicago asked. 

“Who. Do. You. Think? The current fascist regime!” Beca exclaimed. 

“NO WAY! The president would **never** allow that!” Chicago defended. 

“ **Great!** Just **_fucking_** great! We saved a “brown shirt!” Beca spat. 

“BECA! Calm down,” Stacie said and ordered, “Go to the workout room.” 

When Beca hesitated, Stacie barked, “NOW!” 

As Beca slowly exited the room, she gave Chicago another stern two-fingered “I’m watching you” gesture. 

After Beca was out of earshot, Stacie said, “Beca is irrepressible, but she was telling the truth.” 

The look of utter disbelief on Chicago’s face caused Stacie to wonder if they had indeed rescued a “brown shirt.” She walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a stack of reading material for the “Doubting Thomas.” 

“Read these with an open mind and after you’ve read **everything** , we’ll talk,” Stacie placed the stack next to him, grabbed Aubrey and Chloe, closed and locked the holding cell door. 

Outside of the holding cell, Stacie ordered, “Leave him alone to read all the material I left with him. The only times this door is to be opened is for meals and bathroom breaks. Understand? I’ll go tell Beca.” 

Aubrey and Chloe were left dumbfounded and speechless as they watched Stacie storm towards the workout room.


	9. “Evil is unspectacular and always human, and shares our bed and eats at our own table.” - W. H. Auden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Time to buckle up! My muse just hauled out the drama llamas.

Stacie burst into the workout room and slammed her fist into the closest punching bag, startling Beca. 

“Dude, what happened? Did that guy do something after I left?” Beca asked, genuinely concerned. 

Stacie pummeled the bag until she could no longer lift her arms. She collapsed on the workout room floor, completely exhausted. 

“Beca? I hope we didn’t bring a “brown shirt” in here,” Stacie softly muttered. 

Beca sat down next to Stacie and said, “You’re a good person Conrad. Sometimes good people are bad judges of character, but I don’t think you are.” 

Stacie smiled up at Beca. 

Beca grinned and said, “If I’m wrong, we can feed him to the zombies.” 

As a backup plan, in case Chicago proves to be a threat, Stacie and Beca devised a special supply run they will make with him. Beca jokingly named it “Operation: Eradicate Midwest Virus.” 

It took Chicago almost a week to wade through all the material Stacie left for him. He did as promised and read through everything, trying to keep an open mind. The more he read, the more his core beliefs about the military and government were shaken to their foundations. Half of him did not want to believe the military and government he dedicated his life to could treat the country’s citizens with such callous disregard, but the other half of him knew what he was reading was the truth. 

Chicago closed the cover on the last report when Stacie walked in with his lunch. She placed it next to him and turned to leave. 

“Stacie? Can we talk?” he asked. 

Stacie stopped and sat down in the chair, “Yes, but eat your lunch first.” 

After lunch, Chicago and Stacie had a **long** talk about the material she gave him. By the end of it, Stacie felt confident Chicago truly understood what was happening. He honestly shared he would eventually like to return to his division. She assured him he was free to leave, under the condition he never ever discloses information about the compound or its existence. After he swore he would not, Stacie removed the shackle and told him she would fix up a room in the house for him. 

When Stacie finally unlocked and opened the holding cell door, she was greeted by three curious faces. 

“It’s fine. Chicago will be joining us as a contributing member of the compound,” Stacie smiled and exited the holding cell. 

Beca was the first to protest after seeing Chicago was no longer shackled, “Are you **absolutely** sure we can trust him?” 

“Yes, I am,” Stacie confidently responded. 

Beca looked at Chicago and warned, “Hey Elgin! You’d better not betray her trust.” 

“I promise I won’t…and it’s Chicago,” the smiling young man answered. 

“Whatever,” Beca grumbled and headed to her security post. 

Chloe bounced into the room, took Chicago by the hand, and brought him out of the holding cell. 

“Do we have a bedroom for him?” she asked Stacie. 

“Take Chicago to see the chickens. Aubrey and I will have his room ready in a few hours, okay?” Stacie responded. 

Chloe gave Stacie an effulgent smile and nodded. She pulled Chicago towards the chicken coop. 

“You have chickens?” Chicago asked. 

“Yes! I’ll introduce you,” Chloe smiled. 

After Chloe and Chicago walked out the door, Stacie turned to Aubrey, “We’re going to give him the den because it is already set up as a bedroom.” 

“And where are _we_ supposed to sleep?” Aubrey huffed. 

“Upstairs,” Stacie answered. 

Aubrey incredulously stared at Stacie. 

Before Aubrey could say anything, Stacie took her by the hand and pulled her outside. She brought her close to the furthest fence line and turned to face the house. 

Stacie pointed to the roofline and said, “Look at the roofline. It looks like there is a second floor. I’ve thought so for a while now and have been searching the place for a hidden staircase, but so far, I haven’t found one.” 

“And you want me to help you look,” Aubrey sighed. 

Stacie smiled and nodded. 

After an exhaustive and exhausting search for the past hour, Aubrey called for a break to sit down, hydrate, and regroup. They were in the pantry, looking for something to snack on when Stacie dropped her unopened bag of trail mix. When she bent down to pick it up, she felt cool air blow on her hand. She realized the wall did not go all the way down to the floor. 

“Aubrey?” Stacie called. 

“Hmmm?” Aubrey, who was distracted by her search among the snacks on the pantry shelf, hummed. 

“I think I found it,” Stacie said and began feeling the wall for a way to open it. 

After making her snack choice, Aubrey turned and saw Stacie fondling the wall. 

“What?” Aubrey asked. 

“I think I found the hidden staircase,” Stacie happily announced. 

Aubrey put down her snack and bottled water on the shelf and helped Stacie search. They were knocking on the wall when Beca walked in. She wondered what they were doing. 

“Looking for studs?” Beca asked and then laughed when she realized she made a pun.

Stacie turned to answer Beca, “We’re trying to find the…,” 

Aubrey found the small depression in the wall that activated the wall. The three stunned young women watched the wall rise and disappear into the ceiling, revealing a heavy metal door with no lock or handle. 

“Holy shit!” Beca exclaimed. 

“How do we open that?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie thought and remembered the garage door opener fob on the house key ring. She pressed the button and the door opened. Behind it was a staircase. 

“This is better than the Winchester Mystery House!” Beca laughed and headed up the staircase. 

Stacie stopped her and instructed her to go get Ethel and the machete. When Beca returned with the requested weapons, the three young women ascended the stairs. They discovered the second floor was designed to be a turret and panic room, hence the absence of windows seen from the outside. 

There was a large stash of weapons and ammunition, a full-sized bed, a separate bathroom, and a trapdoor that led to the basement. 

“Will this be okay?” Stacie brightly asked Aubrey. 

Beca helped Stacie and Aubrey move from the den to the second floor, which sped up the moving process. After they finished moving, Beca returned to her security post. Aubrey silently gestured for Stacie to wait until Beca left the den. 

After Beca was out of earshot, Stacie said, “You didn’t want Beca here while we prep the room for Chicago, huh?” 

“Yes. I felt it would upset her,” Aubrey answered as she began cleaning the den. 

“Good call,” Stacie smiled as she stripped the sofa bed. 

The brunette stared at the queen-sized bed with the dirty sheets in her arms and asked, “Are you going to be okay with the smaller bed upstairs? We’re going to have a tighter squeeze.” 

Aubrey stopped and laughed, “You’ve been sleeping glued to my side, so I don’t think the smaller bed is going to be a problem.” 

Stacie blushed, nodded, and swiftly exited the den. 

By the time Chloe returned with Chicago, his room was ready for him. Stacie led them to the den. She asked Chloe to gather and bring over all the survivalist’s clothing from her bedroom, while Stacie retrieved the box with the dead man’s toiletries from the back of the bathroom cabinet. Stacie and Chloe arrived back at the den at the same time. Chloe threw her armful of clothes on the bed and began hanging them up in Chicago’s closet. 

Stacie handed Chicago the box and said, “Here are the previous owner’s toiletries. Use what looks usable and throw out the rest. Make a list of anything you need and we’ll pick it up on our next supply run.” 

Chicago smiled, “Thank you. I’d like to help out around here, so if there are any duties you have for me, please don’t hesitate to ask.” 

“Okay, you have a deal,” Stacie laughed. 

After Stacie left Chloe and Chicago in the den, she went upstairs to her room, where Aubrey was busy personalizing it. 

“Not into survivalist chic?” Stacie laughed. 

Aubrey glared at the laughing brunette and threw a pillow at her. 

“It is _so_ on,” Stacie announced, threw the pillow back at Aubrey, and tackled the blonde onto the bed.


	10. “Between what is said and not meant, and what is meant and not said, most of love is lost.” - Kahlil Gibran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Dang it! The drama llamas are running amok.

The following week found all of the compound’s residents performing their assigned duties, with the exception of the newest resident. No matter how many times Chicago asked Stacie, she did not have any duties for him, so he helped everyone else with theirs. Well, everyone, except Beca. The surly brunette refused to let him in the security room. Towards the end of the week, Stacie began to notice something a bit unsettling to her: Chicago was hanging around Chloe, a lot. She decided to monitor the young man’s affections for the friendly redhead. 

By the middle of the week, Stacie decided to share her concerns with Aubrey, so one night in bed, she brought them up with the blonde. Aubrey was having the same concerns and agreed Chicago was a bit too eager to help Chloe and openly fawned over her. Stacie told Aubrey she caught Beca glaring at the couple on several occasions. They were at a loss on how to proceed since Chloe is an adult, so they decided to monitor the situation and step in if it escalated. 

During the third week, as Beca monitored the security cameras and watched Chloe tending to the chickens, she felt a pang of guilt, since she still had not given Chloe an answer. She knew she was being unfair to her best friend, but she honestly did not know how she felt. Aubrey entered the chicken coop and began helping Chloe. A few minutes later, Chicago entered the chicken coop and said something to Aubrey. She shot the smiling young man a skeptical look and left. Beca furrowed her brow. She was tempted to flip on the sound, but after the last time she listened in on a conversation in the chicken coop, she instantly regretted it. She watched Chicago follow Chloe while she placed the gathered eggs in the basket he held. Beca thought Chicago was following a bit too close to Chloe. 

“Beca?” Stacie called from behind the intense little brunette. 

When Beca did not answer or react, Stacie looked up at the video screen Beca was giving her undivided attention to at the moment. 

“Stacie?” Aubrey placed her hand on the tall young woman’s shoulder,” Chicago said you wanted me for something.” 

Stacie turned to Aubrey, “What? I didn’t…” 

Aubrey stopped Stacie and pointed to the video screen. All three young women silently watched Chicago put down the egg basket, wrap his arm around Chloe’s waist, and pull her into him, which surprised Chloe. Chicago said something in her ear. Chloe looked down and laughed. She stepped away from him, revealing several crushed eggs on his chest. Stacie’s laughter broke the palpable tension in the security room. She abruptly stopped laughing when she heard Beca’s low menacing growl. 

Stacie placed her hand on Beca’s shoulder. When the angry little spitfire looked up at Stacie, the tall brunette saw searing blue flames in Beca’s eyes. 

“Beca, let’s go to the workout room,” Stacie suggested. 

When Beca did not move, Stacie barked, “NOW!” 

They did not emerge from the workout room for several hours and after showering, they armored up for a supply run. Aubrey expressed her concern about the late hour, but Stacie assured her they would be fine and stressed Beca seriously needed to get away from Chloe and Chicago. 

An hour before dinner, Aubrey was growing frantic because Stacie and Beca were still not back and it was pitch-dark outside. When the designated dinnertime arrived, Chloe and Chicago arrived at the table in a jovial mood. Aubrey was not surprised nor pleased with how close they sat next to each other. 

“Where’s Beca and Stacie?” Chloe asked as Aubrey placed a plate of food in front of her. 

“They went on a supply run. They’ll be back later,” Aubrey answered as calmly as possible. 

“Shoot! I wanted to go with them on the next supply run,” Chicago pouted. 

Chloe looked out the window and grimaced, “Isn’t it too dark for a supply run?” 

“It was an emergency,” Aubrey answered. 

“What could possibly be that big of an emergency to go out at night?” Chloe asked. 

“They didn’t tell me,” Aubrey lied and urged, “Please eat before your dinners get cold.”

Aubrey opted to wait for Stacie to come home before eating, so she sat at the table and observed the couple. Finding out Beca was out on a supply run at night put a damper on Chloe’s good mood, which confused Chicago. 

“Chloe, what’s wrong?” he asked. 

“I’m worried about Beca and Stacie,” Chloe answered and poked at her dinner. 

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. They’re survivors,” Chicago reassured and affectionately placed his hand on Chloe’s back. 

The small gesture of affection irked Aubrey, but she remained silent. After several more minutes of Chicago’s fawning, Aubrey reached her limit and excused herself from the table. She went directly to her and Stacie’s bedroom. Once inside, she opened the bullet-proof shutter of the window with the best view of the surrounding area and stared out into the darkness through the one-way glass. Even though she could not see anything clearly, she kept watching and hoping for her friends’ safe return. 

Chicago finished his dinner first and waited for Chloe to finish hers, before washing their dinnerware. After he finished washing the dishes, he expected to find Chloe sitting at the table waiting for him, but she was gone. He searched the house, but could not find her, so he retired to his room for the night. 

Earlier, while Chicago was washing their dinnerware, Chloe wandered up to Aubrey’s bedroom, where they spent most of the night searching for any signs of Beca and Stacie. Around midnight, Aubrey suggested they call it a night and go to sleep. 

Upstairs, Aubrey tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Chloe was fairing no better in her and Beca’s bedroom. Around two o’clock in the morning, Stacie and Beca entered the basement. Beca was covered with blood. 

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?” Aubrey yelled. 

“Stress management,” Beca flatly stated and walked past Aubrey towards the basement shower. 

Aubrey turned to Stacie who was in the process of removing her armor, “What?” 

Stacie sighed, “Beca went nuts out there. She was a zombie killing machine.” 

“What about you?” Aubrey asked. 

“I was back up and weapons cleaner,” Stacie threw Ethel and her machete, which were dripping blood, in the wash basin.

Aubrey silently watched Stacie clean both weapons and hang them up to dry. Stacie then spot-cleaned her relatively clean armor and hung it up. 

Once she was done, she told Aubrey, “The **only** reason Beca stopped was that I told her I was exhausted and starving.” 

Aubrey took Stacie’s hand and led her to the kitchen, “Sit.” 

The now relieved blonde opened the oven and retrieved two dinner plates inside. They ate in companionable silence, washed their dinnerware together, and retired to their bedroom. For the first time, Aubrey wrapped herself around Stacie and spooned her. 

“Aubrey? Are you okay?” Stacie asked without turning around. 

“I am now,” Aubrey answered. 

“Thanks for holding down the fort while we were gone. I’m sorry for worrying you,” Stacie said. 

“You’re welcome, but do you have any idea what I went through?” Aubrey asked and unconsciously tightened her arms around Stacie. 

Stacie was seriously conflicted. Her brain knew Aubrey’s reaction was due to the close friendship they forged surviving the zombie apocalypse, but her heart; which kept her unrequited love for the blonde burning, hoped it was something more. 

“No, I don’t,” Stacie softly muttered. 

Aubrey hugged Stacie, “I know, you know, I am in love with Chloe, but Chloe is in love with Beca. I’m not a masochist, so I made the conscious decision to move on. I will always be friends with Chloe, but I know it will never be anything more than a strong friendship.” 

“So…I’m your consolation prize?” Stacie sadly asked. 

Aubrey turned Stacie around to face her. The moonlight shone in from the unshuttered window. 

Aubrey cupped Stacie’s cheek, “No, you are **not** my _consolation prize_. I love you, Stacie Conrad. I finally realized I love you after Beca dragged you home that awful day. Nursing you through your recovery reinforced my feelings and last night confirmed them.” 

Stacie felt hot tears roll down onto her pillow. Aubrey wiped the happy brunette’s tears away and smiled. Stacie buried her face in Aubrey’s neck, tightly hugged the blonde, and cried. Aubrey held Stacie while she cried and did not let go until the sun rose in the morning.


	11. “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” - John Lennon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I corral one group of those rascals and another group upends me. It is time to break out the drama llama vacuum.

Beca decided it would be better to shower with her armor on, so she could get it really clean. The water coming off her around her feet was blood red for a good while. After she thoroughly cleaned her armor, she hung it in the shower to dry and continued with her shower. She was surprised to see the water coming off her body was blood red again. No matter how hard she scrubbed, she could not get the smell of blood out of her nose. It was not until she scrubbed her skin almost raw that she realized the scent of blood was coming from inside her nose, so she blew it a few times and the problem was solved. After she was satisfied with her level of cleanliness, she dried herself, wrapped her towel around her, and looked inside the dryer for something to wear. Luckily for her, she found Chloe’s robe inside and slipped it on. She threw her wet clothes in the industrial washing machine for tomorrow’s wash. 

She headed for the kitchen and found her dinner plate in the oven. After the first bite, Beca realized how hungry she was and quickly finished her dinner. She silently thanked Aubrey for the meal, washed her dinnerware, and tried to sneak into her bedroom without waking Chloe. She slowly opened the bedroom door and saw it was pitch-dark inside. Thanks to the light from the hallway, Beca could see their bed. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Chloe asleep with her back towards Beca’s side, which was closest to the door. She slipped inside, put on her sleepwear, and stealthily got into bed. 

“You smell like blood,” Chloe said into the dark without turning around. 

“Ah, yeah…sorry. We ran into some zombies out there,” Beca answered into the dark. 

Chloe jumped up, trapped Beca beneath her, and exclaimed, “WHAT? Did you get hurt?” 

“I’m fine. The zombies…not so much,” Beca chuckled. 

Chloe angrily choked, “Do you _know_ how **worried** I was?”

A momentarily stunned Beca silently stared at Chloe’s outline for a minute before her anger resurfaced, “WHY THE HELL DO YOU CARE WHAT I DO?” 

Chloe, now stunned by Beca’s anger, furrowed her brow and stared down at Beca’s outline. In the darkness, she was unable to see the fuming brunette’s angry face, but she could feel Beca’s anger coming off her in waves. 

“You have your new _boyfriend_ , so what the fuck do you need me for now?” Beca spat. 

This confused Chloe, so she asked, “Beca? What are you talking about? Chicago and I are just friends, nothing more.” 

“It sure didn’t look like **_“just friends”_** in the chicken coop,” Beca accused. 

“Wha…” Chloe gasped. 

“YEAH! We ALL saw you two!” Beca growled. 

“Beca, it was **not** what you think,” Chloe defended. 

“ **Really?** ” Beca snarked, “Please, **_enlighten_** me.” 

Because Chloe was tired and emotionally drained from worrying about Beca’s safety all night, the accusatory tone of Beca’s voice irritated her more than usual. 

 “I do **not** have to defend my friendship with Chicago to someone who rejected me!” Chloe cried. 

“Rejected you? I never **_rejected_** you! I asked you for some **time** …time to get my feelings untangled…," Beca, cloaked in the safety of darkness lowered her defenses, “…so I could give you an honest answer because you deserve one.” 

The gravity of Beca’s words threw Chloe and she fell backward off Beca, onto the bed. She covered her face with her hands and felt silent tears making their way down her cheeks. The devastated redhead realized she just may have destroyed any hope for her and Beca. The sound of Chloe’s soft sniffle annihilated Beca’s anger and she crawled towards the sound. She bumped into Chloe, sending the redhead over the edge of the bed and onto the floor. 

“Ouch!” Chloe squeaked. 

In her haste to check on Chloe, Beca ended up falling over the same edge of the bed and landing on top of her. 

“Beca!” Chloe tried to untangle herself from Beca. 

“Sorry,” Beca apologized while trying to untangle herself from Chloe. 

When the two friends realized all their efforts to untangle themselves was doing the exact opposite, they stopped moving and Beca began to laugh. 

“Beca, I’m sorry,” Chloe softly said. 

Beca stopped laughing, “No Chloe…,” and still emboldened by the darkness, honestly apologized, “ ** _I’m_** the one who’s sorry. I should’ve given you an answer sooner, so you wouldn’t have thought I rejected you.” 

Beca’s words left Chloe speechless. 

“Chlo, the reason I’ve been avoiding giving you an answer is I don’t want to lose my best friend,” Beca softly admitted. 

“You won’t,” Chloe reassured. 

“I’m afraid if we get together, my trust issues will break us up and I’ll lose my best friend,” Beca clarified. 

“You won’t,” Chloe repeated. 

“How can you be so sure?” Beca asked and added, “Even Jesse got tired of waiting for me to seriously commit to him.” 

“Beca, you’re my best friend. **Nothing** is going to change that… **nothing** ,” Chloe confidently stated. 

“I wish I could be as sure as you,” Beca muttered. 

“You _can_ be…if you _choose_ to be,” Chloe said. 

“Really?” Beca asked. 

Beca felt two soft lips tentatively press against hers in the dark. The shocked brunette felt her heart pound hard in her chest and her ears were unusually warm. A few seconds later, Chloe broke the kiss she initiated and waited for Beca’s reaction. 

A minute of dead silence later, Chloe asked, “Beca? Are you okay?” 

“Chloe? Have you ever ridden the Zipper at the state fair?” Beca asked.

“Yes?” Chloe answered, not really sure where Beca was headed. 

“Right now…,” Beca took an audible breath, “I feel like I just rode it for an hour…non-stop.” 

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Chloe inquired, still confused. 

“Both,” Beca laughed. 

“Both?” Chloe wondered. 

“I feel dizzy, a little nauseous, and on an awesome adrenaline high,” Beca leaned in and kissed Chloe. 

“Beca?” Chloe mumbled around Beca’s kiss. 

“Hmmm?” Beca hummed and leaned in further, gently pushing Chloe onto her back. 

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca’s neck and they melted into each other. After several minutes kissing on the cold bedroom floor, Beca stood, bringing Chloe up with her. 

“It’s warmer in bed,” Beca shyly suggested. 

Beca listened for Chloe to settle under the bedcovers before slipping in and getting settled. She reached out for Chloe and wrapped her arms around the happy redhead, spooning her. 

“Chlo, I love you. I really hope I don’t fuck this up,” Beca softly said in Chloe’s ear. 

Without turning around, Chloe stated, “You won’t. I won’t let you.” 

Beca kissed the shell of Chloe’s ear, “Good night.” 

“Good night Beca.”


	12. “The calm before the storm.” - unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: The vacuum broke.

The sun shone through the unshuttered window, warming Stacie’s face. She opened one puffy eye, glared at the window, and stretched. When she felt an arm tighten around her waist, she blushed at the memory of crying in Aubrey’s arms until she fell asleep. 

“Good morning,” Aubrey softly said. 

“Good morning,” Stacie answered without turning around. 

Aubrey gently turned Stacie around to face her. 

“Better?” Aubrey lovingly smiled. 

“Yes. Thank you for letting me get it all out,” Stacie answered. 

“Anytime you need my shoulder, it’s here for you,” Aubrey assured. 

Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey and hugged the blonde. She glanced at the clock on Aubrey’s nightstand and realized they were running late this morning and pulled away. 

“Shoot! We’re late,” Stacie said and began to get out of bed. 

Aubrey pulled her back down onto the bed, “Considering how late you and Beca returned, I doubt she and Chloe are up yet. If they are, so what? They are big girls and can make their own breakfasts.” 

“Aubrey?” 

Stacie suddenly found herself underneath Aubrey, who was sporting a rather wicked smile. 

Downstairs, as Aubrey surmised, Beca and Chloe were still fast asleep. Only the compound’s newest resident was interested in breakfast and wondering why no one else was awake. After waiting an hour for anyone to show up, Chicago decided to make his own breakfast. Several minutes later, the smoke alarm in the kitchen screamed throughout the compound, shocking Beca and Chloe awake. 

Beca, still dressed in her sleepwear, bolted into the kitchen, “POSEN! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE?” she screamed over the smoke alarm. 

When she saw who was the cause of the commotion, Beca instinctively grabbed the cast iron frying pan off the stove and yelled, “ARE YOU TRYING TO BURN THE WHOLE FUCKING PLACE DOWN?” 

Beca extinguished the grease fire by throwing a cover over the pan. Chloe ran and began fanning the smoke alarm to clear it. Once the alarm stopped blaring, she turned her attention to the other kitchen fire…Beca threatening Chicago with a meat tenderizer. 

“What the hell were you doing in here?” Beca growled. 

Chicago defensively held up his open hands in front of him, “I was trying to make breakfast since no one was around.”

“Where the hell is Posen?” Beca asked no one in particular. 

“Right here,” Aubrey answered as she entered the kitchen. 

“Why are you late?” Beca asked. 

Aubrey glared at Beca in response, noticed the meat tenderizer, and grabbed it out of her hand, “ **I’ll** take this.” 

Stacie entered the smoke-filled kitchen and sighed, “Beca? Were you trying to cook again?” 

“HEY! It was **not** me this time! He…,” Beca pointed at Chicago, “…caused this mess!” 

The tall exasperated brunette looked at Chicago, silently asking if what Beca said is true. 

“No one was here and I was hungry,” Chicago defended. 

“That is no reason for you to burn the place down,” Aubrey said from the stove as she cleaned up the burnt mess splattered on the formerly clean stove.

“Sorry,” Chicago apologized and sat at the kitchen table. 

“Once we get the kitchen cleaned up…,” Stacie said as she turned on the stove fan, “…we’ll make…,” she pointedly looked at the clock, “…lunch. Until then, Chicago, please start your daily chores.” 

“But…,” Chicago began to inform Stacie he did not have any set chores. 

“Do a perimeter check,” Stacie cut him off. 

“Got it!” Chicago smiled and left the kitchen. 

“You two, go get dressed,” Stacie instructed Beca and Chloe. 

Once the kitchen was cleared out, Stacie sighed, “So _this_ is what having kids is like.” 

“Yes dear,” Aubrey giggled from the stove. 

Stacie laughed and began cleaning up the kitchen. 

A couple of hours later, Aubrey called everyone to lunch. Beca, Chloe, and Chicago stampeded into the kitchen and sat at the table. Aubrey and Stacie served lunch. While everyone was eating, Beca noticed a red mark on Stacie’s neck and decided to mess with her friend. 

“Conrad? Are you having a mosquito problem upstairs?” Beca asked, the picture of innocence. 

It took Stacie less than a second to know exactly what Beca was insinuating, “Yes…rather large ones.” 

“I guess we should pick up an industrial-sized can of bug spray on our next supply run,” Beca stated. 

“Put it on the list,” Stacie played along. 

Beca and Stacie resumed eating lunch. 

A few minutes later, Beca said, “I’m not sure what type repels “ _Aedes aegypti.”_

Stacie immediately got the joke and choked on the food in her mouth. Aubrey began patting Stacie on the back. **  
**

After lunch, Aubrey told everyone to leave the dishes to her, so they scattered to begin their daily chores. Stacie was the last one to leave. As she was heading out, Aubrey stopped her. **  
**

“What was so funny about mosquitoes during lunch?” Aubrey asked. 

“The Aedes aegypti transmits yellow fever and only the females of the species bite,” Stacie laughed. 

“Damn that Beca!” Aubrey growled. 

Stacie laughed and headed to the security room. When she arrived, she knocked on the door. 

“Come in,” Beca answered. 

Stacie entered, closed the door behind her, and asked, “Where did you learn about the Aedes aegypti?” 

“It was on a biology test,” Beca laughed. 

Stacie smiled, “How did it go with Chloe?” 

“We _talked_ and worked it out. She’s just friends with G.I. Joe,” Beca answered. 

“Are you two…?” Stacie insinuated. 

Beca flashed back to her and Chloe on their bedroom floor and blushed to the tips of her ears. 

Stacie laughed, “You don’t have to answer. Your blush answered my question.” 

“Damn it, Conrad,” Beca huffed. 

As Stacie left the security room, she said over her shoulder, “I’ll add dental dams to the list.” 

She laughed after she heard something thud against the closed door and went looking for Aubrey. After the meticulous blonde finished cleaning the kitchen, she went to start laundry duty because this was her week. 

Stacie entered the basement and found Aubrey. She was rinsing out Beca’s bloody clothes and cussing out the little brunette for putting them in the washing machine without rinsing them out first.

“Aubrey?” Stacie called out so she did not startle the agitated blonde. 

Aubrey stopped her tirade and looked in Stacie’s direction. 

“Did Beca soak in a vat of blood?” Aubrey growled. 

“Pretty much…yeah,” Stacie answered. 

“How many did she kill?” Aubrey asked as she threw Beca’s rinsed clothes in the washing machine. 

Stacie pondered, “Can you call killing something that is already dead… _killing_?” 

Aubrey huffed, “Don’t get philosophical with me Stacie Conrad. For lack of a better word…how many zombies did Beca _kill_?” 

“I lost count after ten,” Stacie answered and helped Aubrey load the washing machine. 

Something fell out of the pile in Aubrey’s arms, so Stacie bent down to pick it up. She immediately dropped it when she realized it was Chicago’s boxer briefs. 

“You’re doing his laundry too?” Stacie asked. 

“Of course. He’s currently a resident of the compound,” Aubrey replied and picked up the item Stacie dropped. 

“Oh,” Stacie muttered. 

Aubrey finished loading the washing machine and started it before turning her attention to Stacie. 

“I do _yours_ as well,” Aubrey cooed in Stacie’s ear. 

Stacie experienced her first full body blush. Aubrey leaned in for a kiss. 

“I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!” Beca grabbed Ethel from where she was drying. 

Aubrey stopped and looked at Beca. After they realized what was happening, Stacie and Aubrey ran after Beca. 

“I AM GOING TO KILL HIM!” rang out throughout the house as Beca stormed towards the door. 

Stacie caught up to Beca just as the furious brunette was stepping out the door, “STOP!” she demanded and grabbed Beca’s arm. 

Beca turned and glared through Stacie. The tall brunette saw the terrifying blue flames in Beca’s eyes and knew she had to prevent her from getting to Chicago. 

“What happened?” Stacie asked. 

“He grabbed Chloe again,” Beca growled and fought to get out of Stacie’s grasp. 

“We’ll go see what’s going on, but first, give me Ethel,” Stacie demanded and held out her hand. 

Beca refused and shook her head. 

“The longer you refuse, the longer Chloe is…,” Stacie began threatening Beca. 

“FINE!” Beca interrupted Stacie and held out Ethel. 

They bolted out the door towards the chicken coop.


	13. “A man in a passion, rides a mad horse.” - Ben Franklin (1706-1790)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Oh damn.

When Beca and Stacie rounded the turn to the chicken coop, they heard Chloe and Chicago engaged in a heated conversation, so Stacie pulled Beca aside within earshot, where they watched and listened. 

“I thought you liked me?” Chicago whined. 

“I do, but only as a friend,” Chloe stated. 

“What about yesterday in the shower?” Chicago asked. 

Stacie heard Beca’s low growl and glanced at her. She placed her hand on Beca’s arm, silently urging her to calm down. 

“It was just a shower. I used to shower with my friend Tom at Barden University. It’s not a big deal,” Chloe said. 

Chicago thought about the shower they shared yesterday and realized there was nothing sexual about it. It was like when he showered with the guys. 

“But…I like you,” Chicago admitted, “As more than just a friend.” 

“Are you sure your attraction isn’t just physical?” Chloe asked. 

“No, I want to _be_ with you,” Chicago adamantly stated. 

“ _Be_ with me? Romantically? Sexually?” Chloe challenged. 

“Both!” Chicago exclaimed, now frustrated. 

“I’m sorry, but I’m already romantically and sexually involved with someone else,” Chloe answered. 

“Who? Where is he?” Chicago challenged. 

“ _She’s_ right here,” Beca answered as she wrapped her arm around Chloe’s waist. 

“YOU?” Chicago shouted in shock. 

Beca nodded her head and pulled Chloe closer. 

Chicago stared down Chloe and snarled, “You lying dyke. You led me on.” 

Beca released Chloe and put herself between him and the visibly frightened redhead. Stacie stealthily approached Chicago from behind, ready to diffuse any possible violent outburst resulting from having his male ego bruised. Before she could stop him, Chicago pushed Beca out of the way and lunged for Chloe, who backed away from him. Beca’s self-defense training with Stacie kicked in and she swept Chicago’s legs out from under him, bringing the enraged bull down like a ton of bricks, effectively knocking the wind out of him in the process. Beca quickly got up and Chloe ran behind her. Chicago violently struggled to stand while grabbing towards Beca and Chloe. Stacie planted her foot down on his neck, ensuring he would stay on the ground. 

She thrust Ethel in Chicago’s face and threatened, “Do not think of getting up.” 

“You a damn dyke too?” Chicago spat. 

“Such language,” Stacie placed her foot lightly against his throat and ordered, “Beca, bring me the taser.” 

Beca grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her out of the chicken coop. 

“You made a grave error and have to be punished,” Stacie icily stated. 

Chicago’s eyes widened, he shook his head, and squeaked, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” through the pressure on his throat. 

Beca’s angry face was the last thing Chicago saw before he blacked out. When he woke up, he found himself in the holding cell with the ankle shackle attached. 

“Shit,” he muttered and closed his eyes. 

Stacie called a meeting to figure out what to do with Chicago. The four friends sat at the kitchen table debating. 

“I say we feed him to the zombies,” Beca suggested. 

“Isn’t that kind of harsh?” Chloe and Aubrey asked in unison. 

“He grabbed Chloe in the chicken coop and then tried to attack her after she rejected him!” Beca exclaimed. 

Aubrey looked at Chloe, “Is that true?” 

Chloe nodded. 

“I say we feed him to the zombies,” Aubrey agreed with Beca. 

“Chloe?” Stacie asked. 

“I think we should release him, so he can get back to his division,” Chloe answered. 

“Why? So he can come back here with his men?” Beca snapped. 

“He wouldn’t do that,” Chloe defended. 

“How can you be so sure?” Beca asked. 

“The same way I’m sure about you,” Chloe firmly answered. 

Beca silently stared at Chloe in defeat. 

It was agreed they would take him through the tunnel and release him in the morning. That evening, Stacie brought Chicago’s dinner to him. 

“Dinner,” Stacie said and placed the plate near him and sat on the chair in the room. 

He glared at the plate, then at her, and spat, “I don’t want any of your dyke food.” 

“Suit yourself, but I suggest you eat it. You’re going to need your strength tomorrow,” Stacie lightly warned. 

Chicago huffed and turned his back to Stacie. 

A few minutes later, without turning around, he asked, “Why?” 

“Because you’re leaving. We’re going to take you to the city entrance and you’re on your own from there. I hope you’re able to find your men,” Stacie answered. 

Chicago quickly turned around and protested, “You can’t! Those things will kill me!” 

Stacie silently counted to ten, trying to keep her temper from flaring. 

She took a deep cleansing breath and calmly informed the ignoramus, “You cherry-picking Christians preach love and understanding…except when it comes to those who are different from you. You hypocrites use the bible to justify your deplorable behavior and prejudices. You call us degenerates, pedophiles, and perverts when you are the ones who are preying on those you perceive weaker than you. Luckily for you, you’re wrong about us. We are not heartless heathens. We’ll be providing you with a backpack of provisions for a week and a weapon.” 

Relief came over Chicago and he grabbed the plate of food. After he finished, Stacie took him to relieve himself and back to the holding cell. 

“Good night. Get a good night’s sleep,” Stacie told him before closing and locking the door. 

The next morning, Stacie and Beca prepared to release Chicago. Beca chose to bring Ethel with her. Stacie brought her machete and a pistol. Aubrey opted to stay behind. She and Beca tried to get Chloe to remain as well, but the kindhearted redhead insisted on coming along. 

In the basement, before heading out, Stacie handed Chicago the backpack of provisions, but not the weapon. It was a long silent tension-filled walk to the city entrance. 

When they arrived, Stacie snarled at Chicago, “Do **not** return to the compound. If you do, I **will** kill you. Got it?” 

Chicago nodded and walked towards the door. 

Before he opened the door, he turned around and asked, “What about the weapon you promised?” 

Beca walked towards him, handed him a shovel, and quickly returned to the group. 

Chicago incredulously stared at the gardening tool in his hands, “A shovel? A god damn shovel? How the hell am I supposed to defend myself with this?” 

“You’ll figure it out…or die,” Beca snarked. 

“Beca,” Stacie reprimanded the smiling little spitfire. 

She told Chicago, “The edges have been sharpened. It’s actually better than a sword. You can’t dig with a sword.”

Chicago looked at the edges, “Thank you.” He turned toward Chloe, “Chloe? I’m sorry. Could I get a hug goodbye?” 

Chloe looked at Stacie and Beca. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Stacie warned. 

“No,” Beca growled. 

Chicago looked at Chloe and pleaded, “Please?” 

Chloe hesitated for a few minutes before walking over to the pleading young man. He opened his arms for a hug and she returned it. In the blink of an eye, he spun her around into a headlock. Stacie and Beca surged towards him. 

“Stay back! I’ll break her neck!” Chicago threatened and backed away towards the door. 

“Let her go,” Stacie commanded and pointed her pistol at Chicago. 

“You’ll kill her too,” Chicago taunted and backed out through the door. 

Stacie and Beca followed them outside. The tall brunette quickly scanned for threats; luckily there were none in the immediate area. 

“Why are you taking her?” Stacie asked, “She already told you she doesn’t love you.” 

“I’ll show her a real man’s love and save her, but first she has to get away from you degenerates,” Chicago preached. 

Chloe continued to struggle against Chicago’s hold on her, but each time she made any progress, he tightened his arm around her throat to halt her struggles. He put her in a sleeper hold to stop her struggling and threw her over his shoulder like a sack, allowing him to run. Stacie and Beca gave chase until he lost them. They searched until sundown when Stacie ordered them to return home. 

“I want to keep searching!” Beca protested. 

“NO! It’s too dangerous! Zombies aside, the darkness gives **him** the advantage,” Stacie explained. 

Beca reluctantly agreed and they returned home. When they arrived in the basement, an extremely frantic Aubrey greeted them. 

“Where’s Chloe?” Aubrey asked. 

“That fucking asshole took her!” Beca growled. 

“WHAT?” Aubrey yelled. 

“He took her,” Stacie answered. 

“HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN?” Aubrey accused. 

Stacie silently looked through Aubrey, incredulous that the blonde was accusing them of letting Chloe get kidnapped. 

“Posen! We didn’t **_let_** it happen!” Beca yelled, “That fucking asshole knocked her out and carried her off. We chased them, but he lost us. We searched for them until sundown. I wanted to keep searching, but Stacie figured the darkness would give **him** the advantage and **none** of us would’ve returned.” 

Aubrey processed what Beca told her and then apologized for blaming them. She instructed them to come upstairs for dinner after they cleaned up. 

After cleaning up, Beca and Stacie sat at the kitchen table. 

“I’m not hungry,” Beca stated and stood up. 

Stacie grabbed Beca’s arm and pulled her back down, “It won’t help Chloe if you don’t keep up your strength. I need you at your best. We’re going out at sunrise tomorrow.” 

Chewing was the only sound heard during dinner. Everyone had a stressful sleepless night.


	14. “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” – Timothy 2:12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The anime “Highschool of the Dead” and the character Saeko Busujima belongs to Madhouse. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: The search is on!

At the crack of dawn the next morning, Stacie went to wake Beca and found the tired brunette already sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee. 

“I didn’t get much sleep either,” Stacie commiserated and walked over to the coffee pot. 

She poured herself a cup and sat across from Beca. 

“We **have** to find her,” Beca growled. 

“We **will**. No matter what…we **will** ,” Stacie stressed. 

“THIS IS SO FUCKED UP! WHY?” Beca cried out. 

While Stacie waited for Beca to elaborate, her thoughts drifted back to last night in bed with Aubrey. 

After getting into bed, Stacie spent the better part of the night tossing and turning, internally kicking herself for not physically stopping Chloe from hugging Chicago. Aubrey lay in bed enduring what felt like a boat ride on rough seas. After half an hour, her patience wore out and she decided it was time to assuage her girlfriend’s guilt. 

“Stacie?” Aubrey softly called. 

“Huh?” Stacie stopped tossing and turning. 

Aubrey wrapped her arms around Stacie and reminded her, “Remember, we both agreed Chloe is an adult.” 

“Yes, but…” Stacie protested. 

Aubrey cut her off, “No _buts_. **You** are not responsible. This fucked up mess is the sole responsibility of those three and bad luck. About a week after that asshole became part of this household, Chloe confided in me she worried that all the attention he paid her, would adversely affect what she was trying to build with Beca. She didn’t know how to handle it. Chloe was absolutely certain about being in love with Beca, but she was also very hurt by Beca’s request for time to think about how she felt.” 

“Why couldn’t Chloe just reject him right away?” Stacie asked. 

“Because of her upbringing, she couldn’t outright reject him. Her strict father taught her good girls never talk back, especially to men,” Aubrey answered. 

“So Chloe is as emotionally scarred as the rest of us,” Stacie muttered to herself. 

“Yes. When anyone asks about her family, she gushes about them, so they assume she comes from a happy stable home. I thought so too until I spent a week with her at her parents’ house. On the surface, they are exactly as she raved. A few days into our vacation, I saw the darkness beneath all the smiles,” Aubrey shuddered. 

“ **That** bad?” Stacie asked. 

“One evening during dinner, her father questioned her about a letter he received from her Russian Lit professor. The old fart wrote to notify her parents Chloe’s grades were bordering on failing and was concerned it might be a behavior problem,” Aubrey snarled. 

Since her girlfriend rarely snarled like Beca, Stacie remained silent. 

“Chloe was not having a _behavior_ problem. She was having a _professor_ problem. The old letch was pressuring her to have _dinner_ with him, but she kept refusing. I told Chloe to tell her parents, but she told me she didn’t want to “bother them.” Back then, I didn’t understand her reluctance. That evening, I understood it. The entire time her father spoke, it was in an eerie icy calm tone. Both Chloe and her mother kept their heads bowed and never looked up until he was finished speaking. When he allowed Chloe to answer, she told him the truth. He gave her a harsh look and accused **her** of lying! When I spoke up to corroborate what she was telling him, he informed me the matter was none of my business and asked me to leave the table,” Aubrey shook her head. 

“Did you leave?” Stacie asked.

“Yes…reluctantly. I went outside and sat on the porch swing until Chloe came out and joined me. I immediately noticed the angry red finger points on both cheeks from where he probably grabbed her face. When I asked her how she was, she smiled and apologized,” Aubrey sadly answered. 

Stacie shook her head. 

“Like that perverted professor, the guys in Chloe’s life **always** misinterpret her friendliness for more. And just like with her father, she rarely stands up to them. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so she goes along with it and more times than not, ends up over her head. I’ve had to help her out of a few jams, but most times she just dates them until they get bored or start talking commitment. She told me it was easier that way. Chloe seriously doesn’t like to think the worst of anyone, no matter how badly they behave. Personally, I think it keeps her safe from having to take an honest look at her father,” Aubrey surmised. 

After a few minutes, Beca yelled, “DAMN IT! I SHOULD’VE KEPT HER AWAY FROM HIM!” startling Stacie out of her thoughts. 

“Beca, there was nothing either of us could’ve done, so stop beating yourself up over it. It won’t do Chloe any good,” Stacie put her hand on Beca’s forearm. 

“But…but…,” Beca sputtered, knowing Stacie was right. 

“Come on…it’s time to find Chloe,” Stacie stood, put her empty cup in the sink, and walked towards the basement without looking at Beca. 

As Stacie and Beca were gearing up, Aubrey came downstairs and handed them two bags each, “I packed lunches and dinners for the both of you.” 

“Thanks…Po…Aubrey,” Beca said and packed the food in her backpack. 

Stacie kissed Aubrey on the cheek, “Thank you.” 

Aubrey pulled Stacie aside and softly demanded, “You better come home to me.” 

“I promise,” Stacie smiled and kissed Aubrey on the cheek again. 

They searched until sunset. Since the search area was clear of zombies all day, Stacie approved extending the search a couple of hours past sundown. Unfortunately, the search proved fruitless. They returned home exhausted and discouraged. Aubrey was waiting with a hot dinner and no criticism. 

Beca and Stacie searched every single day from sunrise to sunset. If conditions were safe, they continued well past sundown. One day during the first week, they found the remnants of a camp. They confirmed Chloe and Chicago were there, because of the provision wrappers left behind. Stacie found a used condom covered with dirt but opted not to tell Beca. When she told Aubrey of her find that night in bed, Stacie held the distraught blonde as she cried herself to sleep. 

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as the search radius grew wider and wider. During one search very close to a town, Stacie experienced her first close call with a zombie and it shook her confidence. If Beca had not been close by, Stacie knew she would not have been able to fulfill her promise to Aubrey. After that close call, she and Beca began packing assault rifles and pistols. The growing number of zombies alarmed Stacie. She wondered if they were losing the war against the undead. 

After every unsuccessful search, Beca sequestered herself in the security room and poured over her maps of the area. She planned their routes and search areas with their safety as first priority. The next search area would take them close to Barden University, so Beca made sure to be extra careful in her planning and gave them more escape routes than usual. 

During the search, they came upon a convenience store. Stacie and Beca scouted the building’s perimeter as they usually do; each one taking a side and meeting in the back. When they arrived at the rear of the store, they found an electric motorbike leaning against the wall. They immediately went on high alert and scanned the area for the owner. After confirming the owner was not outside, they cautiously entered the store. As Stacie walked up the aisle towards the rear of the store, she grabbed some supplies off the shelves and put them in her backpack. When they reached the rear of the store, they found the owner of the electric motorbike, or what was left of the owner. There was not enough to determine gender. Beca searched the owner’s pockets and found a set of keys. After grabbing more supplies, they cautiously exited the store and checked out their new ride. It had a full charge, so they decided to end their search early and ride it home. 

When they rode into the basement, they surprised Aubrey, who was doing the laundry. 

“Where’d you get that?” Aubrey asked, a bit startled to see them back early. 

“We found it near Barden,” Beca happily stated. 

“You went to Barden?” Aubrey exclaimed. 

“No, we went _near_ Barden,” Stacie clarified. 

Beca was busy checking out their new find when she realized they did not have a charging cable for it and asked, “How are we supposed to charge this?” 

Stacie opened her backpack and tossed a charging cable to Beca, “It was in the owner’s backpack.” 

“When did you find the backpack? Was there anything else?” Beca asked. 

“I found it on the way out of the store. There were a few candy bars and _this_ ,” Stacie pulled out a digital music player with earphones wrapped around it and handed it to Beca. 

Beca brightly smiled and cupped the digital music player in her hands, looking at it with reverence and exclaimed, “I have tracks again!” 

“I thought you brought your portable music studio?” Stacie asked. 

Beca looked down at her shoes and dejectedly admitted, “In all the chaos, I forgot to grab it.” 

Stacie leaned close to Beca and whispered, “Maybe we can get it when we search Barden.” 

“REALLY?” Beca excitedly asked. 

“Really what?” Aubrey asked. 

Stacie passed Beca something behind their backs. Beca glanced at it and stifled a laugh. 

She held up a black hoodie and happily exclaimed, “It’s Saeko Busujima from “High School of the Dead!” and slipped it on. 

“How appropriate,” Aubrey deadpanned and added, “Give it to me to wash.” 

“Why?” Beca asked. 

Aubrey pointed to the blood on the sleeve. Beca quickly removed it and tossed it to Aubrey, who tossed it in the washing machine.


	15. “There are no easy choices. Easy choices are long gone.” - Alan Greenspan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: To the readers outside the United States, today is our Election Day. To the readers in the United States, I hope you either already voted or are going to vote.

One morning, Stacie realized their supplies were growing dangerously low, so she decided to do a solo supply run with the electric motorbike she affectionately called “Greased Lightning,” before the daily search. She went to the security room to let Beca know her plans and was surprised by how easily the usually stubborn brunette agreed. 

As Stacie thought, with “Greased Lightning,” she was able to quickly make the emergency supply run, as well as bring back more supplies than on foot. After she returned, she unpacked the supplies and put everything away. Stacie then brewed a full pot of coffee from one of the cans she brought back on the supply run and poured three cups. She brought one cup to Aubrey, who was seated in front of the living room window. 

“Here hon,” Stacie placed the cup in front of Aubrey. 

“Thank you,” Aubrey murmured, never taking her eyes away from the window.

Stacie brought a cup to the security room. She knocked and waited. 

“Come in.” 

She placed the hot cup of coffee on the warming pad. 

“Thanks,” Beca grabbed the cup, took a big swig, and sighed, “Dude, I **_so_** needed this. I’ve been rationing myself after seeing how low we were.” 

“Ohhh… **that’s** why you didn’t argue with me about today’s emergency supply run,” Stacie chuckled. 

Beca guiltily grinned. She returned to staring at the maps scattered on the desk and making notes. 

Stacie returned to the kitchen and picked up her cup. She walked over to Aubrey and sat down next to her. 

“Anything?” Stacie asked. 

She looked at her girlfriend’s profile and ached for the days before the light went out in the blonde’s beautiful blue eyes. 

“Nothing yet,” Aubrey distractedly answered. 

Stacie finished her cup of coffee, put it in the sink, and headed to the security room to get Beca. They planned to search Barden University today but agreed to keep Aubrey in the dark. Ever since the day Aubrey happened to catch a glimpse of what she said was a military vehicle pass by on the main road, she stationed herself in front of the living room window every day from sunrise to sunset. Stacie was worried about her girlfriend and did not want to stress her out any more than she already was.

It was well past sundown when Stacie and Beca returned from searching Barden University. The search yielded no signs of Chloe or her kidnapper, but seeing their friends and classmates shuffling around campus traumatized both young women to their cores, especially Beca.

As promised, Stacie and Beca searched the Bella House for the little spitfire’s portable music studio on their way back to the compound. Beca found it right away but took a while getting all the necessary parts together. As they exited the house, Beca, in her excitement of having her equipment back, was not as alert as she should have been and walked into Emily Junk. When the tall zombie bent down to bite Beca’s face, she pushed her equipment bag in Emily’s face to stop her. As she struggled with the tall zombie, Beca finally saw Emily’s face. Except for the sickening color, she looked like Emily. Beca flashed on their time in the studio together.

“Shoot her in the head!” Stacie yelled as she fought with a zombified Benji.

Beca cried out, “I CAN’T SHOOT EM!”

“YOU HAVE TO!” Stacie screamed as she pushed Benji off her and shot him in the head.

“I CAN’T! I CAN’T!” Beca wailed as she fought to keep Emily from biting her.

As Beca struggled with Emily, a deafening shot rang out near her and Emily collapsed on the ground. Beca saw Stacie’s mouth moving, but all she could hear was ringing. She shook her head and pointed to her ears, so Stacie grabbed Beca, the bag they risked their lives for and ran. The return trip was deathly silent.

Once they were safely inside the compound and removing their armor, Stacie asked about Beca’s hearing.

“The ringing stopped a while ago,” Beca muttered.

“Beca, you need to toughen your resolve. You could’ve died out there.” Stacie warned.

Beca stared through Stacie. Her mind’s eye was looping Emily with half her skull blown off falling to the ground.

“Beca? Beca? Beca?” Stacie called.

Beca felt like she was underwater. Stacie’s voice was garbled and she could not understand anything she was saying. A painful slap across her face pulled Beca out of the water.

“FUCK!” Beca yelled and rubbed the side of her face.

“Beca, you were in shock,” Stacie softly told her.

Beca nodded her head.

“You shouldn’t be alone tonight, so I’ll stay in your room with you,” Stacie adamantly stated, expecting Beca to protest.

“Okay,” Beca agreed.

After getting cleaned up and ready for bed, Stacie gave Beca a pill.

“What’s this?” Beca asked as she stared at the pill in her hand.

“A mild sedative,” Stacie answered and handed Beca a glass of water.

Beca popped the pill in her mouth, took a swig of water, swallowed it and asked, “Where did you get them?”

“Aubrey’s bathroom at the Bella House when you were getting your stuff together,” Stacie answered.

“Oh,” Beca smiled and got in bed.

“I’ll be back. I’m going to let Aubrey know what’s going on,” Stacie said.

Several minutes later, Stacie returned to Beca’s bedroom and found the little brunette fast asleep. She slipped into bed and soon joined her in dreamland.

The next morning, Stacie informed Beca they would not be searching that day. Beca protested, but deep down, she knew it was the right thing. Stacie ordered Beca to help her with her duties and Aubrey would take Beca’s security duties. Stacie did not want Beca holed up in the security room alone all day.

One morning, three months after Beca and Stacie began their frantic search for Chloe, their routine was suddenly thrown into chaos. As usual, before they headed out, Stacie and Beca ate breakfast at the kitchen table, going over the search parameters for the day. Aubrey was at her station in front of the living room window staring out into the distance.

“OH MY GOD!” Aubrey exclaimed, jumped up, and ran out of the room.

Stacie and Beca looked at each other in confusion. Aubrey ran back into the room with her sniper scope in her hands and used it to look out the window.

“IT IS!” Aubrey yelled.

“Is what?” Beca asked from the kitchen table.

Aubrey pointed out the window, “It’s a light armored vehicle!”

“What the hell?” Stacie growled and ran to the window.

Aubrey handed Stacie the scope and the tall brunette confirmed a military vehicle was headed towards them.

“Aubrey, you take the sniper rifle upstairs and cover us. Beca, grab your rifle and come with me,” Stacie ordered.

On the way out, Stacie grabbed the assault rifle she kept by the door. Beca and Stacie took their defensive positions in the front yard and waited for the vehicle. It pulled up in front and stopped, but no one exited the vehicle. After several minutes, the door slowly opened.


	16. “Foes' gifts are no gifts: profit bring they none.” - Sophocles (496 - 406 BC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I LOVE riding roller-coasters.

Stacie motioned to Beca to be ready to shoot if necessary. After helping Beca through the Post-traumatic stress disorder she suffered due to what happened with Emily Junk, Stacie was fairly confident that Beca would be able to handle those types of situations now. A familiar voice called out from the open door of the light armored vehicle.

“Don’t shoot! I’ve come in peace,” Chicago stated.

He stepped out of the light armored vehicle with his open hands raised and approached the front gate.

“Stacie?” Chicago called out.

“What?” Stacie responded and stayed hidden.

“I kept my promise. No one knows I’m here and I didn’t tell anyone about this place, so don’t kill me,” Chicago stated.

“Fine. Why did you come back?” Stacie asked.

“I came to return this to you,” Chicago answered and headed back to the vehicle.

“It’d better be Chloe!” Beca yelled from her cover.

He opened the back door, pulled out the backpack they had given him, and tossed it on the ground in front of the closed gate. Chicago turned back to the open vehicle and struggled to pull something else out. He stood in front of the gate cradling an unconscious and visibly battered Chloe in his arms. Before Stacie could stop her, Beca ran to the front gate, opened it, and took Chloe away from Chicago.

“Why is she unconscious?” Beca snarled.

“The doc had to sedate her,” Chicago sheepishly answered.

Before Stacie could say anything, two shots rang out and Chicago fell backward. Stacie looked up at the turret and back towards Chicago. She ran to check on the felled young man. He was bleeding from two gunshot wounds in each upper arm; effectively incapacitating him. She quickly scanned the area and as she feared, all the noise and commotion drew unwanted attention.

Stacie turned to Beca and yelled, “Get Chloe inside.”

Beca ran inside with Chloe, yelling for Aubrey, who was already waiting for them. The eerily calm blonde led Beca to the den, where she had set up a makeshift triage.

Stacie quickly dragged Chicago inside the gate and drove his vehicle into the open area inside the compound. As she ran back to the open gate, she drew her machete. Just as she was about to lock the gate, a zombie grabbed her arm. She did not have enough room to use her machete, so she pulled out her emergency pistol and shot the zombie in the head, sending it backward and off her. She scanned the area for anymore before dragging and dumping it several feet away.

After securing the front gate, she grabbed Chicago by the arm and dragged him inside to the holding cell. She locked the ankle shackle on him and proceeded to walk out.

“Hey!” Chicago yelled to stop Stacie, “My arms hurt.”

Stacie turned and asked, “So?”

“So? Aren’t you going to remove the bullets?” Chicago asked.

Stacie blankly stared at him and flatly answered, “No.”

“What happened to “we are not heartless heathens?” Was that just bullshit?” Chicago sarcastically asked.

“ _I_ am very compassionate to other humans. After what you did, you are no longer human to me,” Stacie turned to leave.

“What about the bullets?” Chicago whined.

“Remove them yourself,” Stacie said and walked out of the holding cell.

After locking up the holding cell, she immediately headed to the den to check on Chloe.

In the den, Aubrey was examining Chloe, humming, shaking her head, but not saying anything. After several minutes of this, Beca finally lost her cool.

“WHAT?” Beca yelled.

Aubrey was startled to see Beca standing next to her. The startled blonde glared at Beca, “Let me finish my examination. Go sit over there,” and pointed to a chair in the den.

Stacie entered the den, saw Beca pouting in a chair, and wondered what happened in the short time before she arrived.

“How’s Chloe?” Stacie asked Aubrey, who was still examining the unconscious redhead.

Aubrey replied, “Beca told me, and I quote, “Rockford said a military doc sedated her but didn’t say why.”

“Why would a military doctor _need_ to sedate Chloe?” Stacie wondered.

“Well, I found…,” Aubrey stopped and looked over at Beca, who was staring at them in anticipation.

Stacie ordered, “Beca, please move the light armored vehicle into the covered garage,” and tossed the keys to her.

“Why? I want to know what happened to Chloe!” Beca stood and took a defiant stance.

“Because we can’t have anyone seeing that damn behemoth from the air,” Stacie answered.

“The asshole said he didn’t tell anyone about us,” Beca defended.

Stacie lowered her eyes at Beca, “And you believe him?”

Beca shook her head and bolted out of the den.

“What’s going on with Chloe?” Stacie asked.

“It’s not good,” Aubrey stated.

Outside in the yard, Beca was having a difficult time moving the light armored vehicle. Every time she was able to touch the pedals, she couldn’t see over the dashboard. She was beyond frustrated and ready to give up.

“SHIT!” Beca yelled and looked up towards the sky, “You couldn’t give me just two more lousy inches?”

“Scoot over…shorty,” Stacie teased.

Beca huffed and climbed over to the passenger’s seat.

Stacie drove the light armored vehicle into the covered garage and turned off the engine. She turned, looked at Beca, and sighed.

After Stacie finished telling Beca about Chloe’s condition, she held the bawling brunette tightly in her arms and silently thought Aubrey was right not to tell Beca earlier.

_“Okay, Beca’s gone. What did you find?” Stacie asked.  
_

_“We can’t revive Chloe,” Aubrey swallowed the large lump in her throat.  
_

_“Why?” Stacie asked.  
_

_“Because she’ll kill us,” Aubrey sadly reported.  
_

_Stacie stared at Aubrey, dumbfounded by what she heard.  
_

_“She’s been infected, but there are no bite marks on her…anywhere,” Aubrey stated.  
_

_“That’s impossible! She looks fine,” Stacie said.  
_

_Aubrey lifted one of Chloe’s eyelids, “Look at her eye.”  
_

_Stacie leaned closer and when she saw the infected eye, it jolted her backward.  
_

_“How are we supposed to tell Beca?” Aubrey asked.  
_

_The shocked brunette shrugged her shoulders, not trusting her voice._

_After several silent minutes, Stacie finally spoke, “I’ll tell Beca.”  
_

Several hours later, Stacie and Beca exited the light armored vehicle and walked into the den. They found Aubrey staring at the contents in a cylindrical glass vial.

“What’s that?” Stacie asked.

“A glass vial,” Aubrey distractedly replied as she stared at the contents.

“Posen?” Beca asked.

When Aubrey heard Beca’s voice, she immediately looked at her with fear in her eyes.

“Aubrey?” Stacie softly called, “It’s okay. Beca’s…holding it together.”

Aubrey asked Beca, “Are you sure?”

“For now,” Beca answered honestly.

Aubrey released the breath she was holding.

“What’s in the vial?” Stacie asked.

“I don’t know. There are several in the backpack, along with a pack of syringes,” Aubrey stated.

“Is there anything else in the backpack?” Stacie asked.

“I just started going through it,” Aubrey answered.

“Beca, you and Aubrey go through the backpack,” Stacie ordered, “I’m going to get some answers.”

Stacie stormed out of the den and went directly to her workbench in the basement. She grabbed a tool from her workbench, smiled, and headed for the holding cell. She entered the cell, closed and locked the door behind her, and shot a menacing look at Chicago, before sitting on the chair.

“You’re going to answer my questions truthfully. If I suspect you’re lying, I’m going to use this,” Stacie held up a battery-operated soldering iron.

Even though she was half bluffing, the look of terror on his face gave her a feeling of satisfaction.

“How did Chloe get infected without being bitten?” Stacie asked through clenched teeth and held up the soldering iron.

“WHAT?” Chicago exclaimed.

Stacie repeated her question.

“NO! NO WAY!” Chicago violently shook his head.

As Stacie watched Chicago’s reaction, she wondered if he was either a damn good liar or actually telling the truth.

“We’re not getting anywhere,” Stacie growled and asked, “Other than food and water, what did you give Chloe?”

She watched Chicago pondering the question, softly muttering a list of things Chloe ingested.

After several minutes, he finally stated, “The blood of Christ.”

“THE WHAT?” Stacie exclaimed.

“I _loved_ Chloe **a lot** , but it didn’t help. She still wanted to be with Beca and constantly begged me to bring her back here. When we finally found a detail working in the area, I asked them to take us back to my division. Once we got back, I asked the preacher for advice about Chloe,” Chicago stated.

“A man of the cloth gave you _that_?” Stacie asked.

“Yes. He’s the local preacher of the Evangelical church near the base,” Chicago brightly answered.

“Holy Mother of God!” Stacie exclaimed.

“Yeah…it was something like that,” Chicago smiled.

Stacie closed her eyes and silently counted to ten. Chicago mistakenly thought she was praying and offered to pray with her.

“I’M NOT FUCKING PRAYING…YOU IGNORANT ASSHOLE!” Stacie angrily shouted.

“Huh?” Chicago uttered, completely confused.

“Your charlatan’s “blood of Christ” was ZOMBIE BLOOD!” Stacie screamed.

“No…no way. He said it was the blood of Christ and would purify her soul,” Chicago asserted.

Stacie finally reached her breaking point and punched Chicago in the face. The pain in her hand immediately calmed her down. She glared at the sniveling young man holding his bleeding nose and stormed out of the holding cell. A minute later, she threw a box of tissues at him and locked the door.


	17. “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).

Instead of heading back to the den, Stacie stormed outside and began chopping wood. A few minutes later, Aubrey stood admiring the immense pile of wood.

“Well, we’re all set for the winter,” Aubrey stated while looking at the wood pile.

Upon hearing Aubrey’s voice, Stacie stopped chopping wood, dropped the ax, and tightly hugged her girlfriend. The puzzled blonde held her shaking girlfriend and softly comforted her.

After Stacie stopped shaking from anger, Aubrey asked, “Are you okay now?”

Stacie nodded.

“What did he tell you?” Aubrey inquired.

“Where’s Beca?” Stacie asked and looked around.

“I left her with Chloe after she helped me use the heavy duty tie-downs to secure Chloe to the bed,” Aubrey answered.

Stacie glanced back at the house.

“Here…,” Stacie cleared the stump, “sit.”

Aubrey sat down on the stump and looked at Stacie. The reluctant brunette did not start speaking right away. She thought about how she wanted to break the news to Aubrey because she knew she needed her girlfriend’s help when they break the news to Beca.

“Stacie?” Aubrey asked, concern evident in her voice.

Stacie took a deep breath and told Aubrey everything Chicago told her. After she finished, she carefully watched her girlfriend’s face. The shocked blonde sat staring at the ground, wringing her hands.

After a few minutes, Stacie softly called, “Aubrey? Hon?”

“We should have fed him to the zombies,” Aubrey grievously muttered.

“Yes, we _could_ have, but we would’ve lost our humanity,” Stacie softly said.

Aubrey suddenly looked up, yelled, “FUCK OUR HUMANITY!” and broke down sobbing.

Stacie immediately held her sobbing girlfriend in her arms and comforted her. It took a long time for Aubrey to stop crying.

“Hey, what’s going on…,” Beca began to ask and stopped when she saw Stacie holding a distraught Aubrey.

Beca stood in front of them with her arms crossed, completely at a loss over what to do, since providing physical emotional support was never her strong suit.

“How’s Chloe?” Stacie asked, easing Beca’s awkwardness.

“She’s still out,” Beca answered and pondered, “I wonder what the military doc gave her?”

Stacie sadly shook her head. When she felt Aubrey shudder, she tightened her hold on her girlfriend.

Suddenly, Stacie perked up and whispered to Aubrey, “Will you be okay for a bit? I have something I _need_ to do.”

Aubrey nodded her head. Stacie stood, kissed Aubrey on the cheek, and dashed back inside.

When she entered the holding cell, Stacie found Chicago fast asleep, so she kicked him in the leg and yelled, “WAKE UP!”

He woke with a start and stared at her in fear.

“What’s in the vials?” Stacie asked.

“Huh?” Chicago uttered, trying to wake up.

“What. Is. In. The. Vials? In the backpack?” Stacie growled.

Chicago sheepishly looked down at his feet and admitted, “I stole those from the doc’s lab. I think it’s the stuff he sedated Chloe with because I saw him injecting her with it every day after I brought her to him.”

“Why did you bring Chloe to the doctor?” Stacie asked.

“Because she said she didn’t feel good,” Chicago answered.

“Before or after you gave her the zombie blood?” Stacie snarled.

Chicago backed away and squeaked, “After.”

Stacie walked over to Chicago, knelt down next to him, looked at his arms, and proudly smiled, “She’s a damn good shot.”

“Who?” Chicago asked.

“Aubrey. Both shots are through and through,” Stacie answered and added, “I’ll have her patch you up, but that’s going to hurt a _whole_ lot more.”

Stacie left the holding cell and locked the door behind her. She walked back outside to the woodpile and discovered Aubrey and Beca left, so she headed to the den.

When she arrived at the den, she found them watching over an unconscious Chloe.

“How is she?” Stacie asked.

“Still out,” Beca sighed.

“I asked Chicago what the doctor gave her. It’s the stuff in the vials. He stole all those vials and the pack of syringes from the lab. The doctor was injecting Chloe with it every day,” Stacie reported.

“Why?” Beca asked.

“Chicago thinks it’s a sedative, but I’m skeptical. Chloe told the doctor she wasn’t feeling well, so why sedate her? If you ask me, that’s kind of overkill,” Stacie answered.

“Maybe it’s an experimental drug?” Aubrey asked.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Stacie smiled and added, “Great minds think alike.”

Beca rolled her eyes and asked, “Why?”

“If Chloe was infected around three months ago, she would already be a zombie…unless the military doctor was using her as a guinea pig,” Stacie theorized.

“If your theory is correct, then the drug is working. How much was the doctor giving her?” Aubrey asked.

“Unfortunately, Chicago doesn’t know,” Stacie sadly stated.

“Maybe this…,” Beca pulled a thick binder out of the backpack, “will have the answers.”

Stacie’s eyes widened in excitement like a kid receiving their dream birthday present. Beca handed the thick binder to the extremely happy brunette, who immediately took it to the security room to read.

Back in the den, Beca asked Aubrey, “Should we give Chloe a dose today?”

Aubrey thought and answered, “I don’t want to overdose her, so let’s go see if Stacie found anything.”

Beca opened the closed security room door without knocking first and walked in. Aubrey knocked on the open door and entered.

Stacie looked at them and happily stated, “We were right! Sit down and listen to this.”

She read the last entry in the journal:

_Started test subject on Z2012 three weeks ago and she has been responding well to it. She still lapses into unconsciousness for 4 hours after injection. Upon waking, she still calls out for “Beca.” When I brought this up to Captain Walp, he stated “Beca” is the test subject’s dead dog._

Beca growled.

Aubrey looked at Beca and grinned.

_After increasing the dosage of Z2012 to 1ml, the lesions on her face vanished, but her eyes still show signs of the virus. Next week, I will increase the dose to 1.5ml.  
_

_She is still experiencing memory loss, which could be a side effect of Z2012 or the virus. Due to Captain Walp’s refusal to disclose any personal information about the test subject, I do not know if her memory loss is progressing.  
_

_I have increased security measures around the test subject’s holding cell, due to Captain Walp’s continued attempts to remove her from the facility.  
_

Stacie looked up, “That’s the last entry.”

“That asshole gave her to the military?” Beca angrily asked.

“No. I think the military doctor kept Chloe after discovering she was infected,” Stacie answered.

“How did she get infected?” Beca asked.

Stacie looked at Aubrey. Aubrey looked at Stacie.

“What?” Beca demanded.

After a few minutes of silent consideration, Stacie took a deep breath and answered Beca. The shocked brunette sat staring through Stacie. Aubrey nudged Stacie’s foot under the desk to get her attention. When she looked over, Aubrey motioned to prepare for the imminent explosion.

In an attempt to diffuse the little brunette grenade, Aubrey asked, “Should we increase her dose tomorrow?”

“BECA!” rang out through the house, jarring Beca out of her rage.

All three young women bolted out of the security room and ran to the den. They found Chloe wide awake, breathing heavy, and struggling against her restraints. The wide-eyed redhead stared at them.

“Where’s Beca?”


	18. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tzu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: We shall now take a sharp right at Albuquerque.

Beca slowly walked over to Chloe, so as not to startle her, “Right here Chlo.”

Stacie and Aubrey, who were still standing close to the den door, prepared to pull Beca away in case Chloe broke out of her restraints.

Chloe looked at Beca and asked, “Where’s Beca?”

Beca furrowed her brow and waved her hand in front of Chloe’s face. The frantic redhead looked Beca up and down.

“Aubrey, where’s Beca?” Chloe demanded.

The shocked brunette stumbled backward. Stacie immediately stepped forward and caught Beca. Aubrey slowly walked over to Chloe.

“BECA! Where have you been?” Chloe asked as tears ran down her face.

Aubrey turned, gave Beca and Stacie a look of utter confusion, and turned back to face Chloe.

“Beca, why am I tied up?” Chloe asked.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” Aubrey reassured Chloe.

Aubrey turned, grabbed her two shocked friends, pulled them out of the den and into the security room.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Aubrey yelled.

Beca shook her head. Stacie ran over to the journal. She quickly read through several pages before snapping her fingers.

“According to these findings, the zombie virus attacks and kills the host. I think the virus infected Chloe’s brain before the doctor was able to reverse the damage. Her hippocampus must’ve been affected,” Stacie surmised.

“It scrambled her memory, so now she thinks I’m Beca?” Aubrey asked.

“Exactly,” Stacie nodded.

“Z2012 reversed the physical damage to her brain. Why didn’t her memory revert back?” Aubrey asked.

Stacie shook her head, “I honestly don’t know.”

“Wait…so you’re saying Chloe thinks Aubrey is me and I’m Aubrey?” Beca asked.

“Yes…and no,” Stacie answered, “When Chloe looks at Aubrey, her brain tells her it’s you. She doesn’t _think_ she sees you, she _actually_ sees you.”

“W…w…what?” Beca stammered.

“Memories are stored in different parts of the brain. When the zombie virus began infecting her brain, her memories of you and Aubrey, which were the dearest to her, remained intact. Somehow, those memories were scrambled and put back incorrectly,” Stacie explained.

“What the hell are we going to do?” Beca exclaimed.

“I read a study about amnesia and it claimed if you expose the amnesiac to familiar things, it sometimes helps bring back their memory,” Stacie stated.

“But Chloe isn’t suffering from amnesia,” Beca expressed.

“No, but in a way she is,” Stacie retorted.

“BECA!” rang throughout the house.

Stacie and Beca looked at Aubrey. The stumped blonde huffed at her two friends and ran towards the den.

Beca asked, “Do you think it’s safe to release Chloe?”

“I don’t know yet. We have to see how she behaves,” Stacie answered.

“What are we going to tell her about being tied down?” Beca asked.

“The truth,” Stacie said.

“Shit,” Beca muttered.

They walked to the den and were shocked to see Aubrey sitting on the edge of the bed with Chloe’s hand resting on the blonde’s thigh.

“Au…Beca?” Stacie asked and made direct eye contact with her girlfriend.

“It’s fine,” Aubrey cryptically answered.

“You’re Stacie? Right?” Chloe asked.

“Me?” Stacie cautiously asked and pointed at herself.

“Yes. Beca told me to ask you why I’m tied to the bed,” Chloe said.

“Do you remember why we’re here in this house?” Stacie asked.

“Yes. The zombie apocalypse,” Chloe answered.

“Good. What’s the last thing you remember about this house?” Stacie continued.

Chloe thought, looked at Aubrey, and blushed to her ears. Both Aubrey and Stacie looked at Beca, who suddenly found her shoes extremely interesting. Stacie laughed and bumped the blushing Beca with her shoulder.

A wicked grin graced Aubrey’s lips and she asked, in an innocent saccharine tone, “Chloe, why are you blushing?”

“Beca…,” Chloe whined, “You _know_ why.”

Not trusting her voice, Aubrey shook her head.

“That night…,” Chloe said suggestively, trying to jog her girlfriend’s memory, “…on the bedroom floor…”

Stacie wrapped her arm around Beca’s neck and quietly teased, “You dog…you.”

“Shut it, Conrad,” Beca quietly growled and tried to push her much stronger friend off of her without much success.

Chloe smiled at the two friends and suddenly her eyes lit up with glee, “I’m **so** happy for you two!” she exclaimed.

They froze and looked at Chloe.

Aubrey corrected, “Chloe, they aren’t _together_.”

“Oh! I’m sorry. It just looked…,” the embarrassed redhead apologized.

Stacie released Beca and resumed her questioning, “Chloe, do you remember any military people?”

Chloe thought and shook her head. Stacie suspected she was hiding something.

The amateur detective pointedly looked at Aubrey, “ _Beca_? Would you and _Aubrey_ please release Chloe?”

Stacie whispered something in Beca’s ear as the confused little brunette headed towards the bed. Aubrey and Beca released Chloe.

As soon as the redhead was free, she wrapped her arms around Aubrey and happily exclaimed, “Beca!”

Both Stacie and Beca felt a sharp pain in their chests at the same time.

“Chloe? Would you please come with me?” Stacie asked.

Chloe happily hopped off the bed and followed Stacie out of the den. Beca and Aubrey followed behind them. When they arrived at the holding cell, Stacie opened the door, gently wrapped her arm around Chloe’s shoulders, and led her inside.

“Chloe? Do you know him?” Stacie asked and pointed at Chicago.

The redhead stepped closer to the young man and stared at him.

A few seconds later, Chloe screamed, “YOU!” and began kicking him.

Aubrey and Beca stepped towards Chloe, but Stacie stopped them and shook her head.

“Chloe…stop…,” Chicago begged and rolled into a ball to defend against Chloe’s kicks, “…it’s me…Chicago.”

Chloe began kicking him with both feet, “I know **exactly** _who_ you are! You’re the one who raped me!”

When Aubrey and Beca heard that, they ran out of the holding cell. Stacie took the opportunity to close and lock the holding cell door.

“No Chloe! I love you! I just wanted to _help_ you,” Chicago cried out.

“ _Help_ me? _Help_ me?” Chloe yelled and began stomping on him.

Stacie waited until Chloe reached her physical limit. She wrapped her arm around Chloe’s shoulders and led her to the door. After Stacie unlocked and opened it, she was met by two very angry sets of eyes.

“Please take Chloe back to the den,” Stacie handed an exhausted Chloe off to Aubrey.

“You go with them,” Stacie ordered.

“What about you?” Beca asked.

“I have to clean up in here first,” Stacie answered.

Beca peeked inside the holding cell and saw a battered Chicago curled up in a ball.

“Wha…?” Beca uttered.

“I let her deliver _justice_ ,” Stacie smiled, “Frontier justice.”

Beca beamed at Stacie and ran towards the den.

Several minutes later, Stacie returned to the den with a mirror in her hand.

“Chloe?” Stacie called.

Chloe, who was leaning against Aubrey while the blonde read a book, perked up. Aubrey put her book down. Beca, who was seated in a chair on the other side of Chloe, listening to her digital music player, turned it off and pulled out her earbuds. Stacie now had the undivided attention of everyone in the den.

“Do you remember seeing a military doctor?” Stacie asked.

Chloe nodded and said, “ _He_ brought me to the division doctor after I said I didn’t feel well.”

“Did the doctor say anything to you?” Stacie asked.

“Yes. He told me I was very sick and needed to stay at the medical facility, but didn’t tell me what I had,” Chloe answered.

Stacie hummed.

“You were infected with the zombie virus. The doctor was a researcher. You were a test subject,” Stacie disclosed.

“I don’t _feel_ sick,” Chloe reported.

Stacie handed Chloe the mirror. She looked at herself and shrugged.

“Look at your eyes,” Stacie instructed.

Chloe looked at her eyes in the mirror and gasped when she saw the infection. Tears welled up in her eyes. Aubrey grabbed a tissue and handed it to Chloe.

“Am I going to die?” Chloe sobbed.

“I don’t think so,” Stacie answered and explained, “After you were infected, you were put on an experimental vaccine that **seems** to be working.”

This cheered Chloe up and her bright smile returned.

“Well, _that_ hasn’t changed,” Beca quipped.

Stacie and Aubrey glared at her.

“Jeez, kidding,” Beca defended.

“We have several vials of the vaccine, so we can continue your treatment,” Stacie told Chloe.

Chloe beamed, “Thank you.”

“I’ll be monitoring you,” Stacie informed her, “so you’ll be staying in here.”

“Beca too?” Chloe asked.

Beca and Aubrey looked at Stacie.

“Not yet. I need to be certain you’re completely free of the virus first. Okay?” Stacie offered.

Chloe looked at Aubrey and disappointedly answered, “Okay.”


	19. The serpent is helpless unless he finds an apple to work with.” - George Ade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: In honor of Veteran’s Day here in the United States of America, I am posting Monday’s chapter today. To all the women and men in the armed services, thank you for your service.

The next day, Beca surprisingly woke with the sunrise. Before Chicago took Chloe, she usually slept in as late as possible, unless it was a supply run day. Beca sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She tried to gather her chaotic thoughts.

_“Shit! Why the fuck is fate messing with me so hard? I just figured out I love Chloe and after she kissed me…,”_ Beca smiled and touched her lips, remembering the kisses she and Chloe shared.

She continued her internal dialogue and got out of bed. Beca opened her closet and stared blankly at the clothes hanging inside. She looked at Chloe’s clothes hanging beside hers and felt a pain in her chest.

“SHIT!” Beca growled and angrily changed into her street clothes for the day.

_“Dammit! I love Chloe and she said she loves me. Why the hell does she think Aubrey is me? Posen and I aren’t even the same height! Maybe Chloe really loves Aubrey?_ Maybe I’m just some stupid consolation prize?” Beca clenched her fists.

“No, you’re not.”

Beca quickly turned her head towards the opened bedroom doorway.

“Conrad! What the fuck?” Beca snarled.

Stacie entered the bedroom and closed the door. She walked over to Beca and motioned for the surly brunette to sit down on the bed. After Beca reluctantly sat on the bed, Stacie sat down beside her.

“Beca, you’re not “some stupid consolation prize” for Chloe,” Stacie stated.

“Then why the fuck does she think Aubrey is me?” Beca accused.

“The physical damage to her brain, even though reversed, is causing her memories to fire incorrectly,” Stacie explained.

“Well, scrambled memories aside, I feel like a fucking consolation prize,” Beca grumbled.

Stacie furrowed her brow and glared at Beca.

“What?” Beca asked.

“Aubrey was right! You’re absolutely clueless when it comes to Chloe!” Stacie scolded.

“Fuck dude! Kinda harsh,” Beca retorted.

Stacie gave Beca a resigned look, shook her head, and stared at her.

“What?” Beca asked.

“You have **no** idea what being a consolation prize is Beca. Being a consolation prize is when the one you love is hopelessly in love with someone else but chooses you because they can never be with the one they truly love. **That’s** what being a consolation prize is!” Stacie roughly wiped her eyes.

Beca sat dumbfounded and stared at Stacie, who was now resting her head in her hands and staring at the floor.

After several minutes, Beca softly apologized, “Dude, I’m really sorry.”

Stacie looked up, her eyes still wet, and smiled at Beca.

“Hey, let’s get some breakfast and check on Chloe,” Beca brightly suggested.

The two friends exited the bedroom and headed to the kitchen. They found Aubrey in the process of making breakfast.

“Mmmm…smells good…,” Stacie quickly scanned the area for Chloe, “…Aubrey.”

“Where’s Chloe,” Beca asked.

Without looking away from the stove, Aubrey answered, “She’s still asleep.”

“How did she fair last night?” Stacie asked.

Aubrey swiftly turned and looked at Stacie.

“You didn’t come to bed…,” Stacie answered Aubrey’s unasked question.

Beca looked at Stacie and saw the pain the tall brunette was trying to hide.

Aubrey turned her attention back to the food cooking on the stove and said, “She had a nightmare about what _he_ did to her, but I was able to get her back to sleep.”

Stacie swallowed the lump in her throat and said, “That reminds me…I need you to stitch up the wounds in his arms. I’ll clean up the mess after.”

“Use the **most** painful method,” Beca suggested.

“I think she should cauterize them with the soldering iron on low,” Stacie said to Beca.

“I’ll _take care_ of him after breakfast,” Aubrey stated as she placed a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of Stacie.

While Aubrey was serving Stacie, Beca grabbed her breakfast plate and coffee. She sat down next to Stacie and in between mouthfuls of food, she suggested activities for them to do, trying to garner Stacie’s attention away from watching Aubrey preparing Chloe’s breakfast tray. Once Aubrey disappeared behind the closed den door, Stacie finally gave Beca her full attention.

“I think we should stick around here because I’m going to change Chloe’s injection time from late morning to before bedtime and increase the dosage to 1.5ml,” Stacie stated.

Beca shot a worried look at her friend and asked, “Why?”

“Because the vaccine causes her to fall asleep for four hours after injection and the doctor was planning on increasing the dosage,” Stacie answered.

“What are we going to do if she starts turning?” Beca asked.

“That’s why we’re going to hang out with her in the den today,” Stacie smiled.

“Her _and_ Aubrey?” Beca sighed.

“You’ll be fine,” Stacie reassured.

Beca grumbled and finished her breakfast.

After breakfast, Beca headed to the security room to perform her security duties and Stacie followed her. Once inside, Stacie grabbed the thick journal and headed to the den.

Stacie knocked on the den door and waited.

“Come in.”

She entered and found a dressed Chloe intently watching Aubrey, who was preparing a medical tray.

“Good morning Chloe. Did you sleep well?” Stacie asked.

Chloe turned her attention to Stacie and reported, “I had a nightmare…but Beca was here and made me feel better.”

Stacie hummed and smiled at Chloe. She opened and checked the journal.

“Chloe, it seems the vaccine makes you fall asleep for four hours after injection, so I don’t want to administer it until bedtime, okay?” Stacie said.

Chloe nodded.

“However, I don’t know what will happen to you during the hours between when you last received your injection and bedtime, so Beca and I…and Aubrey are going to spend the afternoon with you in here, okay?” Stacie stated.

Chloe smiled and nodded. Aubrey finished preparing her medical tray.

“I’m going to take care of the _patient_ now,” Aubrey announced.

Stacie nodded.

Chloe asked, “What patient?”

“The one in the holding cell,” Aubrey answered and quickly exited the den.

“Isn’t that…,” Chloe gasped.

Chloe bolted for the door, but Stacie caught her.

“It’s okay. Aubrey will be fine,” Stacie assured.

“Of course she will! _She’s_ not treating that…that rapist!” Chloe yelled and struggled to get out of Stacie’s grasp.

“Beca will be fine,” Stacie corrected herself and added, “She has the taser.”

Chloe searched Stacie’s face for any signs the tall brunette was lying. When she did not find any signs of deception, she relaxed. Stacie asked Chloe to sit in one of the chairs. Once Chloe was comfortable, Stacie opened the journal and began asking her questions in order to answer some of the unanswered questions. They were about half an hour into it when a loud male scream pierced the entire house.

Stacie stopped, looked at Chloe, smiled and said, “See, I told you Beca would be fine.”

“What did she do?” Chloe asked.

Stacie shrugged and shook her head.

Beca ran into the den and yelled, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?”

“The _doctor_ treating her _patient_ ,” Stacie smiled.

“Oh,” Beca grinned and returned to the security room.

After another thirty minutes, Aubrey entered the den with her medical tray and happily announced, “All done.”

“We heard screaming. What happened?” Chloe asked.

As Aubrey was putting the already cleaned medical implements and supplies away, she answered, “I cauterized the wounds on his arms and neutered him.”

Stacie and Chloe stared at Aubrey warily.

Aubrey looked at Stacie and stated, “You’re up next. I would suggest you have Aubrey help you. It’s **very** messy.”

After Stacie and Beca finished cleaning up the bloody mess inside and outside the holding cell, they covered all traces of blood outside with dirt. It took them several hours to finish, but they completed the monumental task just in time to watch and monitor Chloe until her next injection.

As the freshly showered duo walked towards the den, Beca said, “Dude, I think I’m dreading _this_ job more than the last one.”

“Me too,” Stacie agreed.

“I swear, at the first sign of mush between those two, I’m outta there,” Beca threatened.

True to her word, Beca bolted out of the den as soon as Chloe wrapped her arms around Aubrey. Stacie had to retrieve the stubborn little spitfire from the security room.


	20. “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” - Alfred Lord Tennyson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Yes, I am evil.

“No, I’m not going back in there!” Beca adamantly stated and grabbed the edge of the desk.

“Beca, I **need** your help. If Chloe turns, it’s going to take both of us to handle her,” Stacie pleaded.

“NO!” Beca huffed.

“I’ll let you bring your music player in, but you have to keep one ear open,” Stacie negotiated.

Beca mulled over the offer and agreed to return to the den.

When they entered the den, they were greeted with the sight of Chloe kissing Aubrey on the cheek. Beca immediately put one of the earbuds in her ear and turned on her digital music player. She plopped down in a chair and turned it so she could not see those two. Stacie sat in a chair and read the journal. After an hour of nothing, Beca’s bladder required attention, so she turned around and much to her surprise, she saw Aubrey reading a book and Chloe, a few feet away, trying to solve a wooden puzzle.

“Stacie, I’m taking a bathroom break,” Beca called out.

Stacie looked up and nodded.

When Beca returned, everyone was surprised and thrilled to see she brought bottled water and chips for them. Beca turned her chair so she could watch Chloe trying to solve the wooden puzzle. Five hours later, Aubrey left the den to prepare dinner, leaving Beca and Stacie alone with Chloe. Fifteen minutes later, Chloe dropped the wooden puzzle and began acting strangely. Beca, who was watching Chloe the entire time, was already on high-alert when Stacie looked up after hearing the soft thud. Beca already had the tie-downs in her hands and threw one to Stacie.

“Chloe?” Beca called.

Chloe looked at Beca and began to convulse.

“FUCK!” Beca yelled and ran towards Chloe.

Beca and Stacie quickly tied the convulsing redhead to the bed. Stacie grabbed the syringe she prepped earlier and injected Chloe with it. It took five minutes for the vaccine to knock her out.

“That was **too** damn close!” Beca exclaimed.

Aubrey entered the den with the dinner tray. Stacie immediately grabbed the tray before Aubrey fell to her knees.

“W…w…what happened?” Aubrey stammered.

“She began to turn,” Stacie answered.

“Why?” Aubrey cried out.

“Because she’s not cured,” Stacie wrapped her arms around Aubrey and comforted her.

After Aubrey calmed down, Stacie asked her to take the dinner tray to the kitchen. She and Beca thoroughly checked Chloe’s tie-downs before heading for the kitchen.

“We need stronger restraints. We’ll pick some up on the next supply run,” Stacie told Beca.

During dinner, in between mouthfuls of food, Beca and Stacie made plans for a supply run in the morning, while Aubrey sat silently eating. After dinner, Beca washed her dishes and then quickly retreated to her bedroom to give Stacie and Aubrey some alone time. Stacie helped Aubrey wash their dishes and clean the kitchen in silence. They retired upstairs to their bedroom. After they got into bed, Stacie waited for Aubrey to initiate cuddling, but the pensive blonde laid on her back staring at the ceiling on her side of the bed.

“Aubrey?” Stacie softly called.

Aubrey turned her back to Stacie. The heartsick brunette draped her arm over her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Several hours later, Stacie felt Aubrey get out of bed.

The next day, Beca woke and went to check on Chloe. She slowly opened the door to the den and peeked inside. She was surprised to see Aubrey asleep in a chair near the bed. Beca quietly entered the den and gently shook Aubrey to wake her. The sleepy blonde rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and smiled at Beca.

“You should go upstairs and get some sleep. I’ll watch her,” Beca softly said.

“Are you sure?” Aubrey asked.

Beca nodded. Aubrey stood, stretched, and left the den. She climbed the stairs and slipped into bed. Stacie rolled over and draped her arm around Aubrey’s waist.

In the den, as Beca watched Chloe peacefully sleeping, her thoughts drifted back to all the moments in their life together as friends, and as more.

Stacie snuggled close to Aubrey and softly asked, “How’s Chloe?”

Aubrey opened her mouth to reply, gasped, and quickly covered her mouth. Hot tears rolled down the sides of her face. Stacie wrapped her arms around her sobbing girlfriend and whispered words of comfort. It took a while for Aubrey to stop sobbing enough to speak.

“Stacie?” Aubrey softly called.

“Hmmm?” Stacie kissed Aubrey’s temple.

“I’m sorry,” Aubrey sadly stated.

Stacie released Aubrey and moved away from her. She felt all the blood drain out of her.

“I’ll move my things out later,” Aubrey sobbed and sat up.

Stacie flipped onto her back and stared at the ceiling as if it would have the answers she sought. Her vision was soon blurred by tears. When she felt Aubrey get out of bed, she wanted to stop her but knew it would be futile.

Aubrey paused in front of the closed bedroom door when she heard Stacie sobbing on the other side. She wished she could be the girlfriend Stacie wanted and deserved, but she knew her heart still belonged to Chloe and she wanted this one last chance to be with her.

The miserable blonde softly said to the closed door, “I’m **so** sorry,” and walked to the den.

She slowly opened the den door and peeked inside. When she saw Beca sitting on the bed next to Chloe, holding the sleeping redhead’s hand, she slowly backed out and went to the kitchen. She sat at the kitchen table and stared into space, desperately trying to get her emotions under control. At that moment, she felt like throwing up.

Chloe opened her eyes and wondered why Aubrey was sitting beside her, holding her hand. Also why she was tied to the bed again.

“Aubrey?” Chloe pulled her hand out of Beca’s.

“Chloe! You’re okay!” Beca exclaimed.

“What happened last night?” Chloe asked as she struggled against the tie-downs.

“You had an attack,” Beca answered.

Chloe’s eyes widened with concern, “Did I bite anyone?”

Beca shook her head, “No, we caught you in time. Stacie gave you the vaccine and you passed out.”

“I’m glad,” Chloe sighed in relief.

“Can I?” Beca motioned she wanted to check Chloe’s eye.

Chloe nodded, “Yes.”

Beca lifted one of Chloe’s eyelids and checked the eye for signs of infection. Although the infection was still present, it was less than before.

“Thanks,” Beca said and picked up the journal.

As Beca was making the journal entry, Stacie entered the den. The excited little brunette happily motioned for Stacie to come over and read her entry.

After reading Beca’s entry, Stacie smiled and told Chloe, “We **may** be on the verge of a breakthrough with the vaccine. It’s still too early to know for certain.”

Chloe brightly smiled, “Where’s Beca?”

A second later, Aubrey entered the den with Chloe’s breakfast tray, “Are you ready for breakfast?”

As soon as Beca and Stacie released Chloe’s tie-downs, she immediately made a dash to the bathroom.

Beca laughed and said, “We’d better add a bedpan to the list.”

Stacie glanced at Aubrey, swiftly looked away, and quickly walked out of the den.

“You coming?” Stacie called to Beca from the den doorway.

They headed to the kitchen and found their breakfast plates waiting for them. Stacie sat down and silently began eating. Beca stood looking at Stacie.

“You’d better eat,” Stacie said without looking up from her plate.

Beca sighed, sat down, put one forkful in her mouth, and asked, “Okay, what’s the deal between you and Posen?”

“We broke up,” Stacie mumbled around the fork in her mouth.

“DUDE! No way! What happened?” Beca exclaimed.

Stacie put down her fork, looked at Beca, then at the closed den door, and back at Beca.

Beca mumbled, “Oh.”

They finished their breakfast in silence. After cleaning up, they headed to the basement to gear up for their supply run.

“Are we taking “Greased Lightning?” Beca asked.

“Not today. I feel like walking. Do you mind?” Stacie answered.

“It’s cool,” Beca smiled.

Once they finished preparing, Beca ran upstairs to let Aubrey and Chloe know they were making a supply run.

They were almost to the neighboring town when they came across a commotion in the street. Four men stood surrounding two women on the ground. Beca and Stacie immediately ran to help the women.

“What’s going on here boys?” Stacie asked with her assault rifle pointed at the men.

Beca covertly made her way to the other side of the men and pointed her assault rifle at them.

A fat man turned and faced Stacie, “None of your business…if you know what’s good for you.”

“Well, I see four **scumbags** threatening two women, so that makes it **my** business,” Stacie growled.

“That’s an awfully big gun for a _woman_ ,” the man in a flannel shirt taunted.

“She probably doesn’t even know how to use it,” another man laughed.

One shot rang out and the laughing man went down from the gunshot through his knee.

“Why you little…,” the fat man lumbered towards Stacie.

He flew backward and landed in front of the man in the flannel shirt. Blood ran out of the hole in the fat man’s forehead.

“GET HER!” the fourth man yelled.

Two shots from opposite directions rang out. The man in the flannel shirt and the fourth man were felled with single shots to their heads.

Stacie walked over to the laughing man and pointed the assault rifle in his face, “Looks like I _do_ know how to use this. You have a choice. Either I leave you here to become zombie chow or I put you out of your misery.”

The man spat at Stacie, “I ain’t scared of zombies!”

“Okay, suit yourself,” Stacie stood down and walked over to Beca.

Beca was already helping one of the two women to their feet.

“Thank you…tiny mouse.”


	21. “Nobody can hurt me without my permission.” - Mahatma Gandhi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Dearest readers: Time to buckle up because this emotional roller-coaster is headed for “upside-down and backward.”

“K…K…Kommissar?” Beca stammered.

“Nice to see you again…tiny mouse,” Kommissar wickedly smiled.

By the time Stacie joined the group, the young woman with Kommissar was already standing and dusting herself off.

“Thanks, guys!” Cynthia-Rose exclaimed and hugged Stacie.

“What are you doing with Kommissar?” Beca asked.

“Somehow we ended up in the same shelter with other survivors,” Cynthia-Rose answered.

“How did you two end up in _that_ situation?” Stacie asked.

“We were out searching for other survivors and found those four. They said they were survivors looking for a shelter, so we told them to come with us. When we got here, they showed their true colors and told us they were from a religious militia stronghold. They were one of several teams sent out to find women suitable for repopulating the earth,” Cynthia-Rose explained and spat, “Assholes!”

“Didn’t you have weapons with you?” Stacie asked.

“Just those,” Cynthia-Rose pointed to the two unmodified baseball bats lying on the ground.

“Shiiit…you need to get one of these,” Beca said and held up Ethel.

“Beca! _Where_ did you get _that_?” Cynthia-Rose gushed.

“It was in the weapons cabinet at the compound,” Beca proudly answered.

“Compound?” Kommissar asked.

“Yes, we’re living in a fortified compound in the woods,” Stacie explained.

“What are you two doing here?” Cynthia-Rose inquired.

“We’re on a supply run,” Beca piped in and said to Cynthia-Rose, “Want to help us and then come back to the compound? Aubrey and Chloe would love to see you.”

“Aubrey and Chloe survived?” Cynthia-Rose exclaimed.

“Yes…thanks to Stacie,” Beca beamed and patted Stacie on the back.

Cynthia-Rose grinned and tightly hugged Stacie. As she released the tall brunette, she squeezed her butt.

“Nice to see you haven’t changed,” Stacie sarcastically remarked to Cynthia-Rose.

“Mmm…but you have. I didn’t think it was possible, but your booty has gotten tighter,” Cynthia-Rose lustfully looked at Stacie’s butt.

Stacie rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Kommissar.

When the foursome arrived back at the compound, they came up through the basement. Beca and Stacie stored all their gear, then the four young women brought all the supplies upstairs to the kitchen.

“We’re back!” Beca called out.

Aubrey and Chloe exited the den. When they got to the kitchen, Chloe was the first to see Cynthia-Rose and let out an ear-piercing squeal of happiness. The bouncing redhead tightly hugged an overwhelmed Cynthia-Rose. After Chloe finally let go of her stunned friend, Stacie walked over to the effulgent redhead and checked her eyes.

“You remember Cynthia-Rose?” Stacie asked, perplexed.

“Of course!” Chloe answered.

Stacie quickly walked to the den and retrieved the journal. She entered the new development with the pen she kept clipped to it.

“Let’s put all these supplies away and we’ll catch up,” Stacie smiled and placed the journal on the kitchen counter.

Chloe stared at the tall blonde stranger and asked, “Who are you?”

“I am Kommissar,” the tall young woman extended her hand.

The befuddled redhead stared at Kommissar and furrowed her brow.

“Chloe, don’t be rude,” Aubrey said and gestured to Kommissar’s extended hand.

Chloe reluctantly smiled and shook the offered hand.

With six people helping store supplies, the task was finished quickly. The four young women sat around the kitchen table. Kommissar sat next to Beca and Cynthia-Rose sat next to Stacie. Aubrey and Chloe placed an array of snacks and drinks in the center of the table for everyone to enjoy, then sat at opposite ends, facing each other.

“So we don’t all end up talking at once, let’s take turns. Let’s start with our guests. Cynthia-Rose?” Stacie proposed.

“Wow…there’s so much I want to ask, but let’s start with this. What’s with the journal?” Cynthia-Rose asked.

“Don’t freak out, but Chloe was infected with the zombie virus. She’s currently on an experimental vaccine that has reversed her physical damage and almost killed the virus,” Stacie explained.

“WHAT? WHEN? HOW?” Cynthia-Rose exclaimed.

Stacie related the entire mess with Chicago.

“DAMN! Where’s he now?” Cynthia-Rose asked.

“In our holding cell,” Stacie answered, “We’re not sure what to do with him.”

“Feed him to the zombies,” Kommissar offered.

“That’s what I said!” Beca grinned.

“Great minds think alike,” Kommissar flirted with Beca.

Beca blushed, rolled her eyes, and looked away. Chloe glared at them.

“Have we met before?” Chloe asked Kommissar, “You seem _very_ familiar.”

Before Kommissar could answer, Stacie said, “Chloe suffered some memory loss due to the virus.”

“She remembered _me_ ,” Cynthia-Rose offered.

Stacie placed her hand on Cynthia-Rose’s shoulder and gestured they leave the table. Once they were out of earshot of the kitchen, Stacie told her about Chloe’s memory anomaly regarding Beca and Aubrey. Cynthia-Rose agreed to play along. When they returned to the table, Stacie asked Kommissar to come with her and told her what she told Cynthia-Rose. The tall blonde agreed to play along as well.

When they returned to the table, Kommissar found her seat taken by Chloe, so she sat in Chloe’s seat. Stacie wondered if seeing Kommissar triggered something in Chloe’s memory and made a mental note to write it in the journal.

“It’s my turn, so Cynthia-Rose, have you seen any other Bellas?” Chloe asked.

Stacie furrowed her brow and wondered how it was Chloe’s turn since it should be either hers or Kommissar’s.

“Flo and Lilly are staying at the same shelter, but those two always volunteer to go out looking for survivors, so I hardly see them,” Cynthia-Rose laughed.

“What’s the shelter like?” Beca asked.

“It’s one of those warehouse stores with a full kitchen, so we haven’t had to make supply runs yet,” Cynthia-Rose reported.

“How many people are in the shelter?” Aubrey asked.

“Around two hundred,” Kommissar answered.

“Kommissar is part of the shelter’s security force,” Cynthia-Rose explained.

“So how did a badass like you end up in that mess?” Beca teased.

Kommissar lowered her eyes at Beca and went in for the kill, “Would you like me to show you?”

The flummoxed brunette sputtered and blushed. Kommissar smiled and laughed. The group chatted for hours. Stacie kept a keen eye on Chloe, who grew more possessive of Beca as the day wore on. By the time they noticed the late hour, it was too late for Cynthia-Rose and Kommissar to safely return to their shelter, so Stacie suggested they have dinner with them and stay the night. After dinner, they all sat in the living room and chatted more. Chloe sat next to Aubrey and continued to stare at Kommissar. When it was time to retire for the night, Cynthia-Rose announced she would be staying in Stacie’s bedroom. Aubrey began to object and stopped herself.

“I guess I get to sleep in _your_ bed…tiny mouse,” Kommissar teased Beca.

Chloe’s eyes suddenly widened and she began rapidly blinking. She furrowed her brow and her eyes darted from side to side. Stacie knew something triggered Chloe’s memory and the confused redhead was struggling to sort it out.

“Chloe? Are you okay?” Stacie asked.

Chloe looked through Stacie, “Hmmm?”

“Are you okay?” Stacie repeated.

Chloe shook her head and then nodded. Stacie checked her watch, jumped up, and ran into the den. She returned with a syringe she prepared that morning. Ever since the close call, Stacie felt it prudent to prepare Chloe’s nightly syringe in the morning. She injected Chloe and five minutes later, Kommissar carried the sleeping redhead into the den.

After Kommissar left, Aubrey changed Chloe into her pajamas and tucked her in for the night. She grabbed her toiletry bag and headed for the bathroom. As she approached the bathroom, she watched Cynthia-Rose follow Stacie upstairs and felt the flames of jealousy searing her heart. Aubrey shook her head to clear it and entered the bathroom. After she finished her nightly ablutions, she changed into her pajamas and got in bed with Chloe. Aubrey found she could not stop wondering what was going on in her former bedroom, or rather specifically in her former bed. She knew Cynthia-Rose lusted after Stacie but she also knew she gave up the right to stop her former girlfriend from being with someone else.

Once Stacie entered the bedroom, she immediately noticed all of Aubrey’s belongings were missing and it slammed into her like a ten-ton wrecking ball. After getting into bed, she felt her tears begin to well and turned her back towards Cynthia-Rose, so her friend would not see her cry.

Cynthia-Rose heard her friend’s soft sniffling and placed her hand on Stacie’s arm, “Hey, are you okay?”

Stacie, not trusting her voice, nodded. If there was one thing Cynthia-Rose knew more than music, it was women.

She wrapped her arm around Stacie, spooned her, and whispered, “I’m here if you need me.”

After a long pause, Stacie croaked, “Thank you.”

Beca was not fairing any better, but with a much different problem. After getting in bed with Kommissar, Beca found the tall blonde surprisingly respectful. She stayed on her side of the bed and did not make any moves on Beca. The bewildered brunette began a long and convoluted argument with herself about her bed-mate that lasted until she finally fell asleep.


	22. “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

The next morning, Aubrey woke with the sunrise. Chloe clung to her like a child with a favorite stuffed animal. Aubrey kissed the sleeping redhead on the forehead and tried to carefully extricate herself so as not to wake Chloe. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Aubrey did not feel rested because she did not get enough sleep. She could not shut off her jealous internal monologue, no matter how many logical reasons she gave herself. She loved Chloe, but seeing Cynthia-Rose with Stacie drove home the very real fact she still loved her former girlfriend. The ambivalent blonde shuffled to the bathroom and got ready to make breakfast.

Upstairs, Stacie stretched and realized Cynthia-Rose was spooning her. She leaned back into her friend and sighed.

“Hey, what was that for?” Cynthia-Rose mumbled.

“Why does love have to be so difficult?” Stacie sadly asked.

“Because it keeps us from taking it for granted,” Cynthia-Rose lightly squeezed Stacie.

“Hmmm…I guess you’re right,” Stacie sighed.

“Who’s the guy?” Cynthia-Rose asked.

Stacie silently debated whether or not to out Aubrey.

After several minutes, Stacie replied, “Why do you think it’s a guy?”

She smiled when she heard Cynthia-Rose’s sharp intake of air.

Beca opened her eyes and found Kommissar’s face a bit too close for comfort, so she carefully leaned away to put some distance between them. Suddenly Kommissar’s eyes opened and Beca found herself mesmerized by two mirth-filled beautiful blue eyes.

“Good morning…feisty mouse,” Kommissar teased.

“W…w…what?” Beca sputtered.

“Did we not…how do you Americans say? Get down to business last night?” Kommissar asked.

Beca incredulously stared at Kommissar, sat up in bed, and exclaimed, “We did NOT!”

Kommissar fixed Beca with a puzzled look.

“No, no, no…we most certainly did NOT!” Beca huffed.

The amused blonde sat up, leaned close to Beca, cupped the flabbergasted brunette’s cheek and teased, “Too bad. You could have learned _something_.”

She waggled her eyebrows at Beca and bound out of bed. Kommissar was dressed and out the bedroom door before Beca came out of her cinnamon-scented stupor.

Chloe shuffled out of the den and headed to the bathroom. The sound of laughter caught her attention and she stopped at the end of the hallway. Chloe watched Kommissar exit the bedroom laughing. The tall blonde leaned back against the closed bedroom door, waited for a bit, opened it, and dashed back inside. The confused redhead stared at the closed door and waited to see what would happen next, but after a minute of nothing further, she continued into the bathroom. A distracted Aubrey bumped into Chloe in the bathroom doorway.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Chloe apologized.

“No, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking…,” Aubrey suddenly stopped speaking.

Aubrey’s attention was glued on the couple descending the stairs to Stacie’s bedroom.

“Good morning,” Cynthia-Rose stretched as she walked up to Aubrey and Chloe.

Chloe smiled and said, “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Cynthia-Rose stopped in front of Chloe and beamed, “Mmm…like a baby,” as she looked at Stacie in the kitchen.

Aubrey followed Cynthia-Rose’s line of sight and saw Stacie, still dressed in her pajamas, making coffee. She hurried to the kitchen and touched Stacie’s arm to get her attention.

“I’ll take care of breakfast, so you can go get dressed,” Aubrey offered.

Stacie looked at Aubrey’s hand on her arm and slowly raised her eyes to meet her former girlfriend’s. They stared into each other’s eyes.

“Hey, you two! Get a room!” Beca teased.

Aubrey broke eye contact first and looked down.

“Thanks,” Stacie weakly smiled and left for her bedroom.

As she passed Beca, she paused and whispered in her ear, “Did you have fun climbing Mount Kommissar last night?”

Beca blushed to her ears and pushed Stacie away. The tall brunette laughed and dashed upstairs.

Cynthia-Rose sat at the kitchen table, still dressed in the men’s flannel shirt Aubrey gave her to wear to bed last night because neither she nor Kommissar had any sleepwear. The tall blonde surprisingly fit in a pair of Aubrey’s pajamas. Beca sat across from Cynthia-Rose and they chatted until Chloe plopped down next to Cynthia-Rose several minutes later. The three friends chatted and laughed while they waited for Aubrey to finish making breakfast. During a lull in the conversation, Chloe left to help Aubrey. A few minutes later, a dressed Stacie sat down next to Beca.

“ _Well_?” Stacie addressed Beca and waggled her eyebrows.

Beca glared at her friend, “ _Well_ …nothing.”

“Seriously?” Stacie asked, incredulous.

“Yes, she was a perfect _gentleman_ ,” Kommissar said as she sat down very close to Beca.

Stacie glanced over at Chloe, who was glowering at Kommissar and strangling a dish towel.

“Mitchell, you disappoint me,” Cynthia-Rose teased.

Beca glared at Cynthia-Rose and then shot back, “Really? I don’t see any mosquito bites on Conrad.”

Cynthia-Rose grinned, leaned in close to Beca, and smugly answered, “That’s ‘cause they’re in places you can’t see.”

The sound of a plate smashing onto the kitchen floor got the attention of all four young women.

“I’m sorry…butterfingers me,” Aubrey apologized as she knelt down to clean up the shattered plate.

Stacie immediately flew to Aubrey’s side and offered to clean up, “Here, let me. You’ll cut yourself. I’ll get the Wet/Dry. You and Chloe take care of breakfast.”

“Thank you,” Aubrey smiled and touched Stacie’s forearm.

Stacie blushed, nodded, and ran to her workshop to get the vacuum. When she got to her workshop, she collapsed onto her workbench and buried her burning face in her hands.

_“What the hell was Aubrey doing?”  
_

After several minutes, Beca popped her head in the workshop doorway and called out, “What’s taking so long? Breakfast is getting cold.”

Stacie jumped up, grabbed the vacuum, and answered, “Sorry, be right there.”

They joined the others already seated at the kitchen table and ate breakfast. After everyone finished, they all helped clean up. Stacie cleaned the broken plate off the kitchen floor and took the sharp debris outside to the garbage bin. When she got back inside, she found four of her friends chatting in the living room.

“Where’s Cynthia-Rose?” Stacie asked.

“She’s getting dressed,” Kommissar answered.

Stacie headed for her bedroom. When she entered, she saw a dressed Cynthia-Rose sitting on the side of the bed, putting on her shoes.

“Hey…thanks for last night,” Stacie said and leaned against the door.

“You’re welcome. Glad I could help,” Cynthia-Rose finished tying her shoes and asked, “So…Aubrey’s the one?”

Stacie nodded her head. 

“From what I saw this morning, I hope you two can work it out,” Cynthia-Rose stood, walked over to Stacie, and hugged her.

When the two friends descended the stairs, Kommissar walked over to them and asked, “Are you ready to go Cynthia-Rose?”

Cynthia-Rose nodded and headed to the front door.

“Wait up!” Beca called and ran towards the basement.

“Oh yeah…your weapons,” Stacie remembered.

When Beca returned, she handed her favorite weapon to Cynthia-Rose, “Here, you guys need Ethel more than I do.”

“Are you sure?” Cynthia-Rose asked.

Beca smiled and nodded.

“I’ll take good care of Ethel,” Cynthia-Rose promised.

“For the trip back,” Aubrey handed Kommissar a bag lunch she packed.

“Thank you for your hospitality and generosity,” Kommissar said.

Aubrey walked over to Cynthia-Rose and handed her a bag lunch.

Cynthia-Rose thanked Aubrey and whispered, “Be good to her.”

When the group reached the front door, Stacie grabbed the assault rifle she kept there and handed it to Kommissar.

“This and Ethel should get you guys back safely. Don’t hesitate to use them,” Stacie urged.

After seeing Cynthia-Rose and Kommissar off safely, Aubrey headed inside to feed Chicago. Chloe ran to tend to the chickens, even though Beca assured her they took good care of her “babies” while she was gone. Stacie asked Beca to accompany her to her workshop.

Once inside the workshop, Stacie placed their friends’ two unmodified baseball bats on the work table and smiled. They spent a better part of the afternoon holed up in the workshop, each customizing their own baseball bat with razor wire.

When they finished, Beca held up hers and proclaimed, “Say hello to Little Ethel.”

Stacie laughed and said, “Shouldn’t that be, “Say hello to my little friend?”

The two friends laughed. Beca cleaned up her mess and headed upstairs to take a shower. Stacie pulled out and loaded another assault rifle. On her way outside, she placed it at the front door before heading out. She was in the middle of her daily perimeter check when Chloe approached her.

“Have you seen Beca?” Chloe asked.

“Did you check the kitchen?” Stacie suggested.

Chloe headed to the kitchen to find her girlfriend. On the way, she passed the bathroom and heard muffled singing. She stopped and debated whether to check inside or not. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she opened the door and entered the bathroom.

_“You shout it out, but I can’t hear a word you say…”_

The strains of a very familiar song brought a precious memory roaring back to Chloe and she began singing along, _“I’m bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away. You shoot me down, but I won’t fall, I am titanium. You shoot me down, but I won’t fall, I am titanium.”_

The shower door opened.

“Chloe?”

“Beca?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The song “Titanium” was written by David Guetta, Sia Furler, Giorgio Tuinfort, and Nick van de Wall. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).


	23. “Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.” - Rabbi Hyman Schachtel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I may be evil, but I am not heartless…most of the time.

Beca stared at Chloe, trying to covertly check her eyes. The puzzled redhead leaned away from Beca.

“Chlo? Do you know who _I_ am?” Beca asked.

Chloe furrowed her brow and gave Beca a worried look.

“Beca? Have you lost your memory too?” Chloe asked.

Beca stared at Chloe aghast.

“Beca?” Chloe called.

“Chlo, up until now, you thought I was Aubrey and she was me,” Beca explained.

“I did?” Chloe asked.

“Yes,” Beca sighed.

Chloe stared at Beca and smiled.

“What?” Beca asked.

The amused redhead raked her eyes over Beca with a wicked glint in them, “You are _definitely_ Beca.”

Beca finally remembered she was naked and exclaimed, “Dude! Get out!” and pushed a laughing Chloe out of the bathroom.

Aubrey, who was in the kitchen, heard the commotion and walked over to find Chloe sitting against the closed bathroom door laughing.

“Chloe? What’s going on?” Aubrey asked.

Chloe looked at Aubrey and in between laughing, she answered, “Beca…”

Aubrey interrupted and asked, “ _Beca_?”

“Yes, **Beca** …,” Chloe paused when realization dawned, “My memory is back…Aubrey.”

Aubrey stared in complete shock.

“Aubrey?” Chloe called.

When Aubrey did not respond, Chloe ran outside and got Stacie.

“I think she’s in shock,” Chloe said and pointed at Aubrey.

“What happened?” Stacie asked.

“I was telling her my memory is back…,” Chloe began.

“Your memory is back?” Stacie exclaimed, interrupting Chloe.

“Yes,” Chloe nodded.

Stacie immediately checked Chloe’s eyes and found no signs of infection.

“Let’s get Aubrey into the den,” Stacie suggested.

Once inside the den, Stacie and Chloe laid Aubrey down on the bed. The shocked blonde stared at the ceiling. Stacie examined Chloe and made copious notes in the journal.

“Does this mean I’m cured?” Chloe asked.

“CURED?” Beca yelled from the den doorway.

“Beca! Keep it down,” Stacie pointed at Aubrey.

“What happened to Aubrey?” Beca asked.

“We think she’s in shock,” Stacie answered.

“From?” Beca pointed at Chloe.

Stacie nodded.

Realization hit Beca and she exclaimed, “FUCK!”

“Beca, if you can’t keep it down, I’m tossing you out of here,” Stacie threatened.

“Sorry,” Beca leaned against Chloe’s chair.

“Back to Chloe. While there is no sign of infection, I’m not absolutely certain she’s cured. I’d like to gradually reduce the dosage and continue monitoring her,” Stacie reported.”

“Can she…um…,” Beca muttered, “…come back to…”

“Yes Beca, Chloe can sleep in your bedroom again, but it will be up to you to monitor her when she’s in there,” Stacie ordered.

Beca stood and began packing up Chloe’s belongings.

“Beca, if you fail to monitor Chloe, I’ll have her stay with me,” Stacie threatened.

When Stacie’s threat broke through Beca’s euphoria, she stopped what she was doing and glared at her.

“Don’t worry, Beca will keep track,” Chloe assured Stacie.

“Also, until we are absolutely certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chloe is cured, no exchanging bodily fluids. This includes kissing unless it’s on unbroken skin. We can’t afford to take any chances,” Stacie warned.

Chloe pouted at Stacie and the cautious brunette laughed.

After Beca and Chloe moved all of the redhead’s belongings back to their bedroom, Stacie examined Aubrey. She pulled out the smelling salts and waved them under Aubrey’s nose.

“Wha?” Aubrey sputtered and blinked her eyes.

“You went into shock,” Stacie explained as she put the smelling salts away.

“How’s Chloe?” Aubrey asked.

“I examined her and it appears the infection is gone for now. Her memory anomaly has been corrected and I feel it was somehow tied to the infection,” Stacie answered.

“Where is she?” Aubrey wondered.

“She and Beca moved her stuff back into their bedroom,” Stacie stood and headed towards the door.

The tall brunette stood in front of the closed den door with her hand on the doorknob. Without turning around, she stated, “You’re welcome to move back into our bedroom,” then opened the door and walked out.

Aubrey stared at the open door and weighed her options.

After Stacie left the den, she thought she should check on Chloe one more time, so she headed to the master bedroom. As she approached the bedroom, she heard laughter and smiled. She knocked and opened the door. A pillow hit her square in the face and fell to the floor. Stacie picked up the pillow, threw it, and hit Beca in the chest. The three friends were thoroughly enjoying their pillow fight when the door opened.

“ **What** is going on in here?” Aubrey demanded.

The three young women froze, looked at Aubrey, then looked at each other. A second later, three pillows hit Aubrey. The irritated blonde sighed, turned and walked out of the bedroom.

“Dude, you’d better go check on her,” Beca suggested to Stacie.

Stacie walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She heard the pillow fight resume behind the closed door and smiled. Aubrey was not in the den, so Stacie headed to their bedroom. She found Aubrey unpacking her suitcase. A laundry basket with her clothes sat on the floor beside her.

“Do you need any help?” Stacie asked.

Aubrey turned and looked at the tall brunette standing in the open bedroom doorway.

“That would be nice. Thank you,” Aubrey answered.

The two young women silently unpacked Aubrey’s belongings.

After Stacie hung up the last of Aubrey’s clothes in the bedroom closet, she announced, “There! That’s the last one.”

Aubrey looked at Stacie from the nightstand with tears welling in her eyes. The concerned brunette rushed over to console Aubrey.

“What’s wrong?” Stacie asked as she handed Aubrey a tissue.

“You didn’t put anything in here,” Aubrey sniffled and pointed to the nightstand drawer.

“Of course not. That’s _your_ drawer,” Stacie stated.

“But…but…I…,” Aubrey blubbered.

Stacie wrapped a crying Aubrey in her arms.

“Aubrey…even though you chose Chloe, I never stopped loving you,” Stacie softly murmured and kissed the top of Aubrey’s head.

“How can you just forgive my betrayal like this?” Aubrey demanded.

Stacie released Aubrey and leaned away from her, so she could look the distraught blonde in the eyes.

“Because I love you,” Stacie smiled.

Aubrey looked at the smiling brunette and saw nothing but love in her green eyes. She wrapped her arms around Stacie’s neck and kissed the startled brunette.

“Thank you. I will earn back your trust,” Aubrey promised.

Stacie shook her head.

“Aubrey, all I want is for you to be honest with me, okay?” Stacie said.

Aubrey nodded and kissed Stacie again, who kissed her back. Their kiss grew passionate.

“Ewww…get a room,” Beca teased.

Stacie slowly broke the kiss and glared at Beca, “This had better be a matter of life or death, or else!”

“Is a military vehicle heading this way “a matter of life or death?” Beca snarked.

Stacie’s eyes widened.

“Aubrey, stay…,” Stacie began.

“I know the drill,” Aubrey interrupted and motioned for Stacie to go.

Stacie and Beca ran downstairs and took their defensive positions outside. The military vehicle pulled up and stopped in front of their gate. A tall man in an officer’s uniform stepped out from the driver’s side and checked a tracking device in his hand.

“Sir, it’s behind this locked gate,” he announced.

An older officer exited the passenger side of the vehicle. He looked at the locked gate, shielded his eyes, and looked at the house.

“I wonder if anyone lives here?” the older officer asked.

Stacie stood up from behind her camouflaged protective barricade and concealed her assault rifle against the inside of her barricade, “Can I help you?”

“We’re tracking one of our soldiers who went AWOL,” the older officer stated.

“Captain Chicago Walp?” Stacie asked.

“Yes, and who are you?” the older officer inquired.

“DAD!” Aubrey ran out of the house.


	24. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” - Thomas Haynes Bayly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Just a twist of lemon.

“Aubrey?” the incredulous older officer exclaimed.

The tall officer swiftly pulled out his sidearm and pointed it at Aubrey, bringing the bounding blonde to a grinding halt.

“STAND DOWN! That’s my daughter!” the older officer commanded.

The tall officer stood down and holstered his sidearm.

While Aubrey excitedly unlocked and opened the gate, Stacie quickly scanned the area for any zombies. After she deemed the area clear, she walked over to Beca, who was still crouched behind her camouflaged protective barricade. She motioned for Beca to store her assault rifle behind the barricade and they walked over to the open gate.

“Mr. Posen, please have your driver pull your vehicle in, so we can close the gate,” Stacie addressed Aubrey’s father, while constantly scanning the area.

Aubrey’s father immediately understood and ordered his driver to pull the vehicle into the open yard. Stacie and Beca quickly secured the front gate.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Aubrey asked.

“We tracked the vehicle Captain Walp stole via the GPS installed in it,” Mr. Posen stated.

Stacie approached Aubrey’s father, “The vehicle is in there,” and pointed to the covered garage, “Captain Walp is in our holding cell.”

“Why is Captain Walp in a holding cell?” Mr. Posen asked.

“He kidnapped and raped one of our friends,” Aubrey reported.

Mr. Posen addressed the officer standing near him, “Major Smith, go with…,” he paused and looked at Stacie.

“Stacie, sir,” she answered.

“…Stacie and arrest Captain Walp,” Mr. Posen ordered.

Stacie and Beca led the tall officer to the holding cell.

“He’s in here,” Stacie announced.

The tall officer drew his sidearm.

“No need for that. He’s chained up,” Beca said.

The tall officer holstered his sidearm.

Stacie unlocked and opened the holding cell door. When Chicago saw the tall officer he began accusing Stacie and Beca of false imprisonment. Beca walked over to Chicago and kicked him in the rib-cage. She smiled when she heard a crack.

Beca leaned down and threatened, “If you **ever** come near Chloe again, I’ll feed you to the zombies…bit by bit.”

Stacie released Chicago and the tall officer placed the protesting soldier under arrest. The two young women watched Chicago led out the front door in handcuffs. Chloe ran up to Beca.

“Was that…?” Chloe inquired.

“Yes. They arrested him,” Stacie replied.

“Really?” Chloe asked, incredulous.

“Really,” Beca smiled.

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca, tightly hugged her, and buried her face in the comforting brunette’s neck.

“Chlo, it’s all over now,” Beca softly said to her sobbing girlfriend.

Stacie patted Beca on the shoulder before heading out the front door to find Aubrey. When she found Aubrey and her father, they were standing next to the covered garage.

“Where’s…?” Stacie asked.

“Major Smith took Captain Walp back to stand trial for his crimes,” Mr. Posen answered and added, “I’ll be taking the vehicle Captain Walp stole back with me.”

“Will you need our friend to come with you and testify?” Stacie asked.

“If we weren’t in the middle of a damned war, yes, but my daughter’s testimony will be enough to convict him,” Mr. Posen explained.

“What will happen to him?” Stacie inquired.

“Personally, I’d like to feed him to those _things_ , but he’ll probably be thrown in the stockade until this damned war is over. Enough chit-chat, I need to get back,” Mr. Posen answered.

“Here,” Stacie handed Mr. Posen the keys to the stolen light armored vehicle and opened the garage.

Mr. Posen backed the light armored vehicle out of the garage, leaned out the driver’s window, and called, “Let’s go.”

Aubrey sheepishly looked at Stacie and took her hand, “I’ll be back. I promise. Don’t throw out my things.”

The flabbergasted brunette opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

“I love you,” Aubrey kissed Stacie on the lips.

“I…I…I love you too,” Stacie stammered.

Aubrey ran around to the passenger side and got in. Stacie opened the gate and sadly watched the light armored vehicle drive away with Aubrey waving out the passenger window.

“Where’s **she** going?” Beca asked.

“Huh?” Stacie asked, completely distracted.

“BECA!” Chloe yelled and pointed to the zombie headed towards them.

“SHIT!” Beca yelled and shook a dazed Stacie.

A panicked Beca looked back at Chloe. The redhead quickly looked around for a weapon and spotted the assault rifle leaning against the camouflaged protective barricade. She ran over and grabbed it. Knowing she would not be able to throw it to Beca in time, she raised it, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The loud gunshot brought Stacie out of her stupor. She and Beca saw the zombie fall backward. Stacie swiftly closed and locked the gate. Beca ran over to Chloe and took the assault rifle from her.

“Did I kill it?” Chloe asked, her hands shaking.

Beca looked at Stacie who was standing in front of the gate looking at the zombie. The surprised brunette gave Beca the “thumbs up.”

“You got it,” Beca answered and gestured they go inside the house.

“No, I want to see,” Chloe stated.

Beca sighed and accompanied Chloe to the gate. The zombie lay on his back with a bullet hole in his forehead.

“I’ll move it away…,” Stacie began.

“No, **I** will,” Chloe offered.

“Okay, I’ll help you. They’re pretty heavy,” Stacie smiled and added, “Beca, keep watch.”

That night, Stacie cooked dinner. While the three friends ate, Chloe made both Beca and Stacie promise to include her in their training sessions. They skeptically agreed. Beca brought up dividing Aubrey’s duties among them until the blonde returned. Stacie was voted to take over meal preparations since Beca almost burned down the kitchen the last time she attempted to cook anything and Chloe was still technically quarantined.

Stacie figured Aubrey would be gone a few days tops, but after a week, she began to worry. After the second week, Stacie was near panic and wanted to go search for Aubrey.

“If there’s one thing about Posen you can always count on, she never breaks her promise,” Beca stated.

After reassurances from Chloe, Beca was able to talk Stacie out of launching a search party, for the time being. True to her word, Chloe threw herself into her training and turned out to be a better shot than Aubrey. Through all the strength training, the enthusiastic redhead grew into a force to be reckoned with. After witnessing Chloe demolish a target dummy with her bare hands, Stacie awarded the happy redhead with her own modified baseball bat. Beca insisted on naming it “Lucy.”

One night, as Stacie sat staring out her bedroom window, she heard a strange sound coming from downstairs. Fearing a zombie breached the compound, she grabbed her machete and cautiously followed the sound downstairs. When she realized the sound was coming from the direction of the master bedroom, she burst into the room with her weapon at the ready.

“FUCK! DUDE!” Beca yelled.

The blushing brunette quickly pulled up the bed-covers and covered Chloe’s naked backside.

Stacie immediately turned around and faced the door, “Sorry. Sorry. I heard _sounds_.”

A second later, after Stacie recovered from her embarrassment, she spun around and yelled, “What the hell Beca? I explicitly told you two no sex until Chloe is completely cured!”

Beca looked questioningly at Stacie and responded, “Conrad, you cleared Chloe yesterday…remember?”

Stacie paused in thought and blushed bright red, “Sorry…again. In all the excitement, I forgot.”

The flustered tall brunette stood staring at Beca, frozen with embarrassment. The covered lump between Beca’s legs moved, bringing Stacie out of her stupor.

“I’d _love_ to chat with you _all_ night,” Beca sarcastically said, “But I have _something_ that requires my **full** attention.”

Stacie nodded and swiftly exited the master bedroom. She dragged herself back to her bedroom and got in bed. Unable to sleep, she grabbed Aubrey’s pillow, buried her face in it, and cried herself to sleep.


	25. “Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil.” – Aristotle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: Of course they went to the military base. It would not be a horror fic if they did not go there.

The closer the light armored vehicle got to the military base outside the city, the more zombies it encountered.

“That’s odd. There shouldn’t be any of those _things_ out here,” Mr. Posen muttered.

He was deep in thought when Aubrey screamed, “DAD!” and pointed out the windshield at the horde of zombies heading toward them.

Mr. Posen’s military training kicked in and he stepped on the accelerator, “Brace for impact!”

He never let up on the accelerator as the light armored vehicle plowed through the zombies like a hot knife through butter. Only after they cleared the horde did he slow down. As they approached the military base, he sensed something was dangerously wrong.

“DAD! LOOK!” Aubrey yelled and pointed.

Mr. Posen slowly pulled up next to the military vehicle haphazardly parked on the side of the road. His sense of foreboding was confirmed by the sight of Major Smith’s body leaning back in the driver’s seat, the top of his head blown off.

“What do you think happened? Where is Captain Walp? Do you think he killed Major Smith?” Aubrey anxiously rapid-fired.

“Aubrey, calm down and **_look_**. I suspect they encountered a horde like we did, but were taken by surprise. See, the driver’s side window is down. It looks like Major Smith was bitten on the arm and decided to take his own life. As for Captain Walp, I can only speculate he was either carried off by those _things_ or he ran off,” Aubrey’s dad answered.

“Why would Major Smith let his guard down?” Aubrey wondered.

“Because there aren’t supposed to be any of those _things_ this close to the base. We put several men in the towers around the base with a “terminate-with-extreme-prejudice” order on those _things_ ,” Mr. Posen stated.

“Then _something_ has gone wrong at the base,” Aubrey surmised.

“Exactly,” Mr. Posen agreed.

“I think we should go back to the compound. It’s safe there,” Aubrey suggested.

“No, I need to find out what happened at the base,” Mr. Posen adamantly stated.

Aubrey looked at her father’s determined profile and knew she would not be able to change his mind. She sighed and sat back in her seat.

As they approached the front gate of the military base, their suspicions were sadly confirmed. The front gate was wide open and the base was overrun with zombies. Aubrey was terrified and wished she was back at the compound with Stacie. Unfortunately, her father had no such fears and drove onto the base. He drove directly to the command center.

“D…D…Dad,” Aubrey stuttered and pointed.

The command center door was splattered with blood. All around them, zombies were eating their victims. Aubrey’s father surveyed the situation and decided he needed to get inside the command center, no matter how much Aubrey begged and pleaded for him to leave. He leaned back into the rear compartment of the light armored vehicle, flipped open a side panel door, and removed a semi-automatic rifle.

After confirming the weapon was locked and loaded, he ordered, “Stay here and keep the doors locked. Do **NOT** exit this vehicle under **ANY** circumstances! Understand?”

Aubrey nodded and her father handed her the keys. As soon as he deemed the area clear enough, he quickly exited the light armored vehicle and made his way to the command center door. Aubrey could feel her heart pounding in her ears. She watched her father slip inside the command center. As she stared at the blood splattered door, a loud thud scared her. She looked out the window and saw a young man with the right side of his face missing. He pawed at the window, trying to get at Aubrey. Soon, several other zombies were pounding on the windows and shaking the light armored vehicle. She was quaking with fear, so she placed her head between her legs and covered her ears. It felt like hours before the pounding and shaking stopped. She heard the sound of tapping on the window and looked up. Her father motioned for her to open the door. She hesitated and only after visually checking him for bites, did she finally open the door.

“Dad, what happened?” Aubrey asked.

“We took back the command center,” Mr. Posen triumphantly announced.

Aubrey stepped out of the vehicle. Zombie bodies littered the area. Several soldiers stood behind her father, securing his safety while he retrieved his terrified daughter. The detail hurried Aubrey and her father back into the command center. As soon as they stepped inside, the still terrified blonde was escorted to a small room, handed a pill and a paper cup of water.

“What is this?” Aubrey asked.

“A sedative,” the soldier stated, “Colonel Posen ordered we give it to you.”

“I don’t want this,” Aubrey protested.

“It will help,” the soldier pointed to Aubrey’s shaking hands.

Aubrey refused and the soldier left her with the sedative. She wandered around the sparsely populated command center and found the medical facility. Aubrey wondered if this was where Chloe had been kept, so she searched it for any evidence. She found a weathered medical backpack and rummaged through it. After finding nothing of use, she emptied it and continued searching. During her search, she loaded the backpack with medical supplies she felt they would need at the compound. When she tried to open the closed door to an adjoining room, she discovered it was locked with a card key lock. She put down her medical backpack and searched for the card key. She found it in a desk drawer and opened the door.

When she saw a file folder with Chloe’s photo attached, she knew she found her friend’s holding cell. Aubrey stuffed the file folder in the backpack and opened a tall cabinet. Inside, she found hundreds of vials.

_“How many of these did they test on Chloe?”_

Aubrey grabbed all the vials marked “Z2012” and put them in the backpack, along with a few boxes of syringes. She was searching through another tall cabinet when a passing soldier found her. He escorted her back to the small waiting room.

Back at the compound, Stacie controlled her ever-mounting anxiety by throwing herself into her daily chores. Watching Beca and Chloe in the throes of their new relationship was difficult at best, so the anxious brunette kept her interactions with the couple at a minimum.

One day, while Stacie was in the basement performing a maintenance on “Greased Lightning” and Beca was at her station in the security room, Chloe decided to work on her long-range shooting skills. Even though Beca and Stacie assured her she was a better shot than Aubrey, she honed her shooting prowess every single day, keeping their finite stock of ammunition in mind. She brought Aubrey’s sniper rifle outside and challenged herself by shooting at distant objects through the small openings in the fence, from well within the compound yard. She successfully hit everything she shot. After reloading, she looked through the scope, took aim at a tree in the distance, but before she pulled the trigger, something large blocked her scope. She looked up and saw her worst nightmare standing a few feet away from the fence. Chloe felt as if everything was moving in slow motion as she stared at the man who put her through hell.

“Chloe-e-e…,” Chicago called out as he looked around.

Chicago turned towards the compound and smiled when he saw Chloe.

“I’ve come back for you-u-u…,” Chicago said in a sing-song voice and walked towards the fence.

Beca bolted out the front door and yelled, “CHLOE!”


	26. “Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” – Kahlil Gibran

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: I apologize for the long chapter. My muse and I had a big disagreement and she won…she always wins.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains a non-explicit rape flashback, so please skip from ** to ** if you are sensitive. It also contains gore.

In order to keep his inquisitive daughter from getting into any trouble, Aubrey’s father posted a guard outside the small room. At first, she sat and pouted about being confined, but soon realized she needed to get back to her friends and warn them about Chicago. She began to formulate her escape plan. Luckily for her, she still had the keys to the light armored vehicle. Her biggest obstacle was the guard outside the small room, then she remembered the sedative still in her pocket.

Aubrey opened the door and as expected, was stopped by the soldier outside.

“Can I help you Miss Posen?” the soldier asked.

“Excuse me…,” Aubrey checked the rank on the soldier’s jacket, “…airman. I’m going to make some coffee. Would you like some?”

“Thanks,” the airman smiled and stepped inside the room.

After she brewed a pot of coffee, Aubrey kept her back to the airman while she poured him a _special_ cup.

Even though Beca _knew_ the back gate was locked and the fence was electrified, she still felt panicked…for good reason. Chloe was frozen in place. Beca feared it was due to intense fear. She quickly joined her girlfriend.

“Chlo? Are you okay?” Beca asked.

Chloe blinked a few times, furrowed her eyebrows, and raised the sniper rifle.

**** _  
_**

_“Trust me…I’ll make this **really** good for you,” Chicago said as he pushed Chloe onto her back.  
_

_Chloe struggled against him. He grabbed both her wrists with one hand and held them down. The frightened redhead struggled harder, but he was too strong.  
_

_“Stop struggling,” Chicago demanded as he pawed at Chloe’s clothes.  
_

_“NO!” Chloe yelled and tried to knee him.  
_

_Chicago raised a clenched fist at Chloe and barked, “STOP!”  
_

_Chloe suddenly stopped struggling and went limp.  
_

_“That’s a good girl,” Chicago praised.  
_

_He lightly straddled her and released her wrists. As he struggled to unbuckle his belt, Chloe slammed her knee up into his groin. He grabbed his crotch in pain and fell over sideways. Chloe got out from underneath him and quickly got to her feet. Before she could run, he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back down. He held her down by the throat and squeezed, causing her to pass out.  
_

_When she came to, he was pulling up his pants._

****  
**

Chloe took aim and pulled the trigger. Beca’s eyes widened as she watched Chicago fly backward and land a few feet away. She looked at an expressionless Chloe.

“Chlo?” Beca softly called.

“It’s finally over,” Chloe softly stated and released her iron grip.

Beca took the sniper rifle from Chloe, leaned it against a hay bale, and wrapped her arms around the now shaking redhead.

“It’s okay,” Beca murmured and kissed Chloe’s temple, “It’s okay.”

After several minutes, Chloe asked, “Is he _really_ dead?”

Beca wrapped her arm around Chloe’s shoulder and walked her to the fence.

Down in the basement, Stacie was blissfully unaware of what just transpired in the yard. She put the finishing touches on “Greased Lightning,” cleaned up, and walked upstairs. As she stepped into the house, she glanced at the front door and noticed it was wide open. Without a second thought, Stacie bolted towards the open door. When she got outside, she saw Beca and Chloe standing by the fence, so she walked over to them.

“Wha…,” Stacie began and stopped when she saw Chicago lying on his back with a single gunshot in his forehead.

“He came back for Chloe,” Beca stated.

“Did you shoot him?” Stacie asked Beca.

“No, Chloe did,” Beca answered.

Chloe’s emotional dam broke and she screamed at Chicago’s corpse through the fence, “YOU RAPED ME! EVERY SINGLE TIME WE STOPPED, YOU RAPED ME! NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I TOLD YOU “NO!”

The furious redhead turned and ran into the house. A minute later, she returned with “Lucy” and told Beca to unlock the gate. Beca quickly looked at Stacie for permission. She quickly scanned the area, flipped off only the gate’s switch, and nodded.

Chloe stormed over to Chicago’s corpse, raised “Lucy” over her head and slammed the weapon down on his face, chest, and crotch…over and over, yelling, “You kept telling me it was **my** fault I needed your _loving_ every single day!”

Blood, flesh, and bone fragments flew everywhere. Beca and Stacie kept an eye out for zombies while they let Chloe vent. By the time Chloe finished, there was not much left of the corpse. Stacie told Beca to take Chloe inside and she headed to the basement to get the wagon. She hauled the remains to the industrial incinerator and burned them.

Stacie made dinner and took her dinner plate upstairs, so the emotionally exhausted couple could eat together in peace. In bed, Beca held and comforted Chloe throughout the anguish-filled night.

The next morning, Stacie made breakfast and ate alone. Afterward, she placed two breakfast plates in the oven, left a note for her friends who were still asleep, and went down to the basement to prepare for a ride.

A few weeks ago, after Aubrey left with her father, Stacie wondered what military facility he and Major Smith came from, so she checked the maps in the security room. She found out there was a fairly large military base in the direction Mr. Posen left with Aubrey. Stacie wanted to go to the military base earlier but shelved the idea after Beca and Chloe talked her out of launching a search party.

Today, she was bound and determined to go out there, so after her extensive pre-trip preparations Stacie fired up her solar-powered global positioning device and headed towards the military base.

As Stacie road, she found the area eerily devoid of people and zombies. According to her solar-powered GPS, she was heading in the correct direction. After about an hour, she came across a military vehicle haphazardly parked on the side of the road. She instantly recognized it and slowly pulled up to the driver’s side. When she saw Major Smith’s remains in the driver’s seat, she finally understood how Chicago escaped custody. This confirmed she was headed in the correct direction and she drove on.

When she reached the military base, she discovered why the area was unusually devoid of zombies. Inside the extremely tall high-security fence, the ground was littered with corpses. She pulled down her filtered face mask and was struck by an unbelievable stench, so she quickly pulled it back up. As she surveyed the area, she noticed a light armored vehicle slowly heading towards her, so she swiftly pulled “Greased Lightning” off to the side and waited. The light armored vehicle pulled up in front of the closed gate and the driver hopped out.

“AUBREY!” Stacie exclaimed.

In her excitement, Aubrey fumbled opening the gate. After finally getting it open, she ran into Stacie’s arms, almost knocking over the brunette and “Greased Lightning.”

“What are you doing here?” Aubrey asked.

“No time for questions, let’s get out of here!” Stacie commanded.

Aubrey started to straddle the backseat, but stopped and ran back to the light armored vehicle. She pulled out the medical backpack, put it on, and ran towards Stacie. Aubrey hopped on the back of the electric motorbike and wrapped her arms around Stacie’s waist. They started to move when Stacie felt Aubrey’s arms sliding off her waist. She turned and realized a zombie had pulled Aubrey off the back by her backpack.

Stacie laid down the electric motorbike, pulled her trusty machete from the sheath strapped to the side of it, and flew towards Aubrey who was keeping the zombie at bay with the backpack. She swung her machete and the zombie’s head flew off into the brush. Stacie bent down, offered her hand to Aubrey, and pulled her girlfriend up off the ground. The grateful blonde wrapped her arms around the stunned brunette’s neck and kissed her. Stacie reluctantly broke the kiss, citing the urgent need to make their escape before any more zombies showed up. While she righted “Greased Lightning,” Aubrey retrieved the medical backpack and they made their escape.

On the trip home, Stacie constantly monitored the electric motorbike’s battery level. It was dangerously low and she worried they would not make it back to the compound. Luckily for them, “Greased Lightning” got them to the front gate. After securing the front gate, Aubrey followed Stacie as she pushed the electric motorbike down the ramp into the basement. She immediately plugged it in and hoped it would not tax the solar panels too much. Stacie wrapped her arm around Aubrey’s waist and they headed upstairs. When they stepped into the house, they were greeted by two very upset faces.

“What the hell Conrad?” Beca demanded with her arms crossed.

“You had us worried,” Chloe added.

“After yesterday, you two needed some alone time, so I gave it to you,” Stacie stated.

“What happened yesterday?” Aubrey asked.

Beca and Chloe, who were distracted with lecturing Stacie, failed to notice Aubrey in the room…until now.

“AUBREY!” Chloe squealed and excitedly hugged her best friend.

“So…you went and rescued Posen,” Beca growled, “…without backup.”

“Sorry,” Stacie apologized.

Beca responded by rolling her eyes.

“What’s in the backpack?’ Beca asked.

Aubrey walked to the kitchen and placed the medical backpack on the table.

“Mostly medical supplies I knew we could use and this,” Aubrey pulled out Chloe’s file.

After Stacie and Beca agreed to look at Chloe’s file after dinner, the tall brunette went to take a shower.

Aubrey resumed her meal preparation duties and started dinner. A freshly showered and dressed Stacie sat at the kitchen table to watch Aubrey prepare dinner.

“I apologize if anything is out of place,” Stacie said.

Aubrey shot her a quizzical look.

“I took over your cooking duties while you were gone,” Stacie answered.

After cleaning up after dinner, the foursome retired to the living room for the first time in a while. While Stacie and Beca studied the contents of Chloe’s file, the changed redhead brought Aubrey up to speed on everything that happened since the blonde left with her father.

“WOW! A lot happened while I was gone,” Aubrey exclaimed.

Stacie and Beca returned from the den, where they added the contents of Chloe’s file to the journal. The tall brunette sat next to Aubrey and the short one next to Chloe.

“What’d we miss?” Beca asked.

“Nothing you didn’t already know,” Chloe answered and snuggled against Beca.

Stacie intently watched Aubrey’s reaction.

“Did you tell her about me walking in on you two?” Stacie laughed, still gauging Aubrey’s reactions.

“No, dude! That’s fucking embarrassing,” Beca protested.

Aubrey laughed and smiled, “Congratulations.”

Stacie was surprised to see a genuine smile on Aubrey’s face.

“I guess it’s our turn next,” Aubrey teased and grabbed Stacie’s arm.

Stacie cleared her throat and stood up, “Well, it’s getting late, so we’d better turn in.”

Her three friends laughed. Beca and Chloe bid their friends good night, then headed to their bedroom. Aubrey told Stacie she would be up after she showered. After the water reached her desired temperature, Aubrey stepped under the spray and immediately felt pain on her scalp. She stepped out of the shower and looked at the top of her head in the mirror. At first, she did not see anything, until she moved her hair and saw the bite mark underneath.


	27. “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” – Scottish proverb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: A friend once told me, “If you want fair, go to Pomona.”

Aubrey crumpled to the bathroom floor and sobbed, “No-o-o, it can’t be.”

The distraught blonde replayed her struggle with the zombie outside the military base. She could not remember being bitten. Upstairs, Stacie was beginning to wonder what was taking Aubrey so long, so she went to check on her.

Stacie knocked on the closed bathroom door, “Aubrey? Are you okay?”

When she did not receive any response, she pressed her ear against the door and heard running water and sobbing. She quickly opened the door and found Aubrey tightly curled into a naked sobbing ball.

“Honey!” Stacie exclaimed and wrapped her arms around Aubrey.

Seeing Stacie brought Aubrey to her senses and she pushed her shocked girlfriend away.

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” Aubrey yelled.

“What’s all the yelling about?” Beca grumbled from the bathroom doorway.

She swiftly spun around when she saw Aubrey was naked.

“Couldn’t you guys do it like normal people…in bed?” Beca asked.

“Beca, go get the medical kit,” Stacie ordered and shut off the shower.

Beca ran to the master bedroom and got Chloe, “Come with me. Something’s up with Aubrey.”

Chloe sprang out of bed and followed Beca to the den.

“Chlo, take the medical kit to Stacie in the bathroom,” Beca handed it to Chloe and flopped down in a chair.

“Aren’t you coming?” Chloe asked.

“No. Posen is naked in there. No,” Beca shook her head.

Chloe ran to the bathroom, handed the medical kit to Stacie, and sat down on the bathroom floor.

“CHLOE, GET OUT!” Aubrey yelled.

“Aubrey, what’s the matter?” Stacie asked, very concerned and confused.

Aubrey loudly sobbed, bowed her head, and showed Stacie the bite mark. Both Stacie and Chloe fell backward from the shock.

“When?” Chloe croaked.

“At the military base…,” Stacie answered, “…but I didn’t see any blood afterward.”

Aubrey looked at Stacie with hope in her eyes.

“Aubrey, let me check the wound, okay?” Stacie asked as she pulled on a pair of gloves.

“Can I help?” Chloe asked, trying to keep her nerves in check.

“Yes, please shine this…,” Stacie handed Chloe a flashlight, “…on the wound.”

Aubrey bowed her head. Stacie carefully examined the bite mark, looking for any breaks in the skin.

“Hon, I have to shave around the bite mark, okay?” Stacie asked.

Aubrey nodded.

Stacie painstakingly shaved and cleaned the area. She pulled the lighted scope out of the medical kit and powered it on. Stacie and Beca created the kit during a special supply run to the local hospital when she was treating Chloe. After several long minutes, Stacie reported she did not find any breaks in the skin. Aubrey and Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.

Stacie stood up and instructed, “Hon, I’ll be right back. Chloe, please stay with Aubrey.”

Chloe nodded and Stacie dashed to the den, where she found Beca sitting in a chair with her arms crossed.

“Beca?” Stacie called, “Are you okay?”

“How’s Aubrey?” Beca asked, “Where’s Chloe?”

“I didn’t find any breaks in the skin,” Stacie answered.

Beca furrowed her brow, “What are you talking about?”

Remembering Beca was not in the bathroom when Aubrey revealed the bite mark on her head, Stacie brought her up to speed. Beca grew silent and pensive. Stacie grabbed the journal and searched it for any entries related to preventative measures. She did not find anything relevant and put the journal back on the bookshelf with all the other medical books they acquired while treating Chloe. Stacie admired their little medical library.

“Beca? Thanks for insisting we bring all these…,” Stacie pointed to the medical books, “…back with us.”

The pensive brunette gave Stacie the “thumbs up.” When Stacie headed back to the bathroom, Beca quietly followed. They found Chloe holding Aubrey, who was now wrapped in a bath towel. Stacie felt a slight twinge of jealousy but brushed it aside. She knelt down and gently took Aubrey from Chloe.

“Thank you, Chloe. I’ll take her to the den,” Stacie stated and asked, “Could you run upstairs and get her pajamas?”

“Stacie, I need to shower first,” Aubrey protested.

Stacie mulled over the situation, “Okay, but only if I join you.”

Aubrey blushed bright red.

“Beca, could you and Chloe prep the den?” Stacie sighed, “Yet again.”

The two dashed out of the bathroom.

“Enthusiastic?” Aubrey asked.

Stacie shook her head and laughed, “More like trying to get the heck out of Dodge.”

In the shower, Stacie washed Aubrey, thoroughly checking for any more bites or zombie-related injuries. She instructed Aubrey wash her hair twice with the medicated shampoo…for good measure. Stacie lightly ran her fingertips up and down the skin on Aubrey’s back, checking for any broken and raised skin. While Stacie struggled to maintain her decorum, Aubrey was quickly losing her composure because her body was reacting to every tactile sensation. When the frustrated brunette reached her girlfriend’s lower back, Aubrey let out a moan. Stacie instantly felt all her nerve-endings awaken. At that moment, all she wanted to do was carry Aubrey upstairs and spend all night “having their turn.” The frustrated brunette internally cussed out every single deity for throwing this obstacle at them.

“It’s not fair,” Stacie quietly complained.

Aubrey turned, wrapped her arms around Stacie’s neck, and tightly hugged the sad brunette, “Did you find anything?”

Stacie, not trusting her voice, shook her head.

“Shall we?” Aubrey asked and gestured they get out of the shower.

“You have a lot of scrapes. I’ll treat them in the den,” Stacie weakly smiled, desperately trying to keep an optimistic tone in her voice for her girlfriend.

After drying themselves off, they slipped on their bathrobes and headed to the den. Aubrey sat on the edge of the bed, slipped off her bathrobe, and waited for her girlfriend, who was grabbing the disinfectant and cotton balls. Stacie began with the scrapes on Aubrey’s body and worked her way up. Every single time the disinfectant made contact with a break in Aubrey’s skin, she winced. Stacie nervously ran the disinfectant over the bite mark, hoping for no reaction.

“Ouch,” Aubrey uttered.

“Sorry, sorry,” Stacie apologized for placing her knee on Aubrey’s hand.

“How is it?” Aubrey tentatively asked.

“The disinfectant confirmed the bite did not break the skin,” Stacie happily smiled.

“Why did it hurt when the water hit my head?” Aubrey inquired.

“Because there is a scrape parallel to the bite mark,” Stacie answered and added, “Unfortunately I can’t tell which one was inflicted first.”

Stacie put away the disinfectant and cotton balls. She walked back to Aubrey and stood in front of the worried blonde, who was looking at the floor.

“Hon?” Stacie softly called.

Aubrey looked up. Aroused green eyes locked with curious blue ones. Stacie untied her bathrobe, let it pool at her feet, and smiled when the curious blue eyes turned dark with desire. Aubrey stood and waited.

“I love you,” Stacie whispered.

“I love you, but I thought we couldn’t…” Aubrey’s next words were lost in Stacie’s kiss.


	28. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13 (KJV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: One’s own imagination can arouse more titillating experiences than the written word.

As usual, Stacie rose with the morning sun. She breathed in Aubrey’s scent, still lingering on her skin, bringing forth memories of the passion they shared last night. Aubrey stirred and snuggled into Stacie’s chest. The content happy brunette tightened her arm around her affectionate girlfriend.

“Good morning,” Aubrey leaned up and kissed Stacie.

“Good morning,” Stacie smiled and returned the kiss.

The young couple snuggled in bed together, basking in each other’s quiet company until having to enter the chaos of the day.

“Stacie?” Aubrey softly called.

“Hmmm?” Stacie hummed.

“Why did you do something so reckless last night? I could be infected,” Aubrey asked.

Stacie cupped Aubrey’s face with both hands and looked her in the eyes, “Because I love you. Now that I have tasted life with you, life without you wouldn’t be worth living,” and tenderly kissed her.

The loving couple was interrupted by a knock on the den door.

“Are you guys decent?” Beca asked from behind the closed door.

“No, but you can come in any way,” Stacie laughed.

A few seconds later, from behind the still closed den door, Chloe urged, “Beca, I’m sure she’s just teasing you. Go in.”

The den door opened slowly and Beca stepped in with her hand covering her eyes.

“Beca, I was just messing with you,” Stacie laughed.

Beca opened her closed fingers and looked through them. Stacie and Aubrey were covered by the bedcovers, but their naked shoulders were in plain sight.

“DUDE! YOU DIDN’T! TELL ME YOU DIDN’T!” Beca angrily pleaded.

Chloe looked at Beca, wondering what set off her girlfriend until she noticed her friends’ naked shoulders.

The shocked redhead gasped, “Oh no.”

“Conrad, you haven’t cleared Posen yet!” Beca exclaimed.

Stacie calmly got out of bed, put on her robe, and sat on the edge of the bed.

She took a deep cleansing breath and stated, “Beca, I love her and would rather die _with_ her, than without her.”

Beca and Chloe silently stared at Stacie, too stunned to speak.

“IF we begin to show signs of infection, we have what’s left of Chloe’s Z2012 vaccine,” Stacie stated, trying to alleviate her two friends’ worries.

“There’s not enough for the both of you,” Beca countered.

Stacie sighed, “Beca, what did I tell you about having to make the _hard_ choices?”

Beca remembered her external and internal struggle with Emily. She roughly wiped her eyes. Chloe placed a supportive hand on Beca’s shoulder.

The upset brunette shook her head, “Stacie, don’t make me choose between you and Aubrey.”

Stacie stood, walked over to Beca, and wrapped her arm around the fuming brunette’s shoulders, “You won’t have to. _If_ I get infected, I want you to save Aubrey. Promise me you’ll do that?”

Beca stared up into Stacie’s honest green eyes and buried her face in her friend’s bathrobe. Chloe hugged Beca from behind and comforted her silently weeping girlfriend.

Aubrey cleared her throat to get her friends’ attention, “I brought back all the Z2012 I found in the cabinet at the base. It’s in the medical backpack.”

Beca let go of Stacie and retrieved the backpack. She looked inside and frowned.

“Was there any more?” Beca inquired.

“That’s all I could find before I was detained,” Aubrey answered.

“This, combined with what’s left of Chloe’s should be enough,” Stacie said as she looked over Beca’s shoulder into the backpack.

“Hon…,” Stacie began, then stopped when Beca snorted.

“Did you see any other vials?” Stacie finished.

Aubrey paused and thought, “Yes. There were a lot of vials in the cabinet, but judging by their labels, they were unsuccessful predecessors of Z2012.”

Stacie reached over Beca and grabbed one of the vials. She read the label and furrowed her eyebrows.

“What?” Beca asked.

“This vial is dated after the date on Chloe’s vials, so I wonder if the military doctor continued experimenting on other victims after Chloe?” Stacie pondered.

“Other victims?” Chloe questioned.

“Aubrey, do you remember seeing any other file folders with Chloe’s?” Stacie inquired.

“Now that I think about it…yes,” Aubrey answered wracking her memory, “I think I saw three other photos, but at the time, I was only focused on Chloe’s file.”

As Beca stared at Stacie, who was lost in thought, she started putting the pieces together and exclaimed, “OH HELL NO! We are NOT going back to the base!”

Beca’s outburst brought Stacie out of her reverie and she explained, “We need those other files to see if any progress was made with the vaccine. Also, who knows what other secrets the facility is hiding.”

“I agree with Beca! You can’t go back to the base. If my dad catches you, he’ll detain you,” Aubrey implored.

“I’m with Stacie…and I want to go on the retrieval,” Chloe stated.

Three extremely surprised friends stared at Chloe.

“But Chlo…,” Beca began but was shut down by Chloe.

“Beca, I **need** to know.”

“Do you want to come with us Beca?” Stacie asked.

“Stacie…,” Aubrey whined.

“ _You’re_ coming with us. I’m not leaving you here alone,” Stacie adamantly stated.

Aubrey nodded.

After breakfast, the four friends strategized in the security room. They all agreed this would not be as simple as a supply run since they would be breaking into a military base and high-security medical facility. Also, they might have to contend with Aubrey’s father. Stacie knew he would not let his daughter escape a second time. The retrieval plan took three days to refine but they finally came up with a plan all four friends agreed upon. It was scheduled for two days after next.

The next day, in preparation for the retrieval run, Beca and Chloe made a special supply run to a _certain_ warehouse store. Stacie wanted to go but stayed behind with Aubrey, even though, over the past nerve-wracking week, neither one of them showed any signs of infection. Stacie told Beca and Chloe it was safer for her to stay behind but there was another reason she wanted to stay with Aubrey…the two lovebirds would have the whole place to themselves for hours.

When Beca and Chloe returned from the special supply run, Beca proudly showed Stacie they secured every item on their list. Stacie picked up the enhanced battery she requested and began upgrading “Greased Lightning” as Beca watched. At one point, Beca noticed something on Stacie’s neck.

“Aedes aegypti?” Beca lightly growled.

Stacie stopped what she was doing, looked at Beca, and wickedly grinned, “When the cats are away…”

“Dude! I hope you know what you’re doing,” Beca weakly reprimanded.

Stacie brightly smiled, “I do,” and resumed what she was doing.

After a couple of minutes, when Beca finally caught the double-entendre, she stood, walked toward the stairs, and laughed over her shoulder, “Fucking Conrad.”

Over dinner, Chloe animatedly related everything she found out about their four friends living in the warehouse store. Cynthia-Rose found her fiance happily living in a stronghold with another woman, so they agreed to separate. Flo set out to search for her family in Guatemala. Lilly and a man she rescued, left the warehouse store to go time traveling. Kommissar rescued a member of Das Sound Machine who came here looking for her. She told Kommissar about Pieter’s passing. He died a hero while rescuing several survivors from an attack on their compound in Germany. Upon hearing this, Stacie expressed her shock at how the virus jumped continents and wondered how it happened.

“Kommissar told me the presi-dunce ordered strikes on Germany and France. The delusional idiot gleefully proclaimed “They have insulted me for the last time.” Beca growled.

“SHIT! What a fucking asshole!” Stacie exclaimed.

“I wonder what other countries were hit?” Chloe pondered.

“I bet Russia and Saudi Arabia weren’t,” Aubrey snarled.

The day of the retrieval run arrived and found the four friends nervous but determined. Stacie pushed “Greased Lightning” to the front yard and Beca pulled the wagon; which Chloe meticulously cleaned and disinfected the day before; behind Stacie. In the yard, Stacie hitched the wagon to “Greased Lightning” with the heavy-duty hitch Beca and Chloe brought back from their special supply run. After everyone suited up, they loaded their weapons into “Greased Lightning’s” saddlebags and stringently secured the compound before getting on the upgraded electric motorbike. Stacie powered on her solar GPS and headed out to the military base. Stacie drove with Aubrey behind her; Beca and Chloe rode in the wagon.


	29. “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” – Albert Einstein

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: My muse and I are once again at loggerheads, so…in my faux British accent I told her, “But I don’t want to be a pickle,” and walked away.

Thanks to Aubrey’s inside knowledge, they approached the military base from the side closest to the high-security medical facility, so they would not have to cross the open expanse in front, leaving them vulnerable to detection. As they approached their target destination, Stacie stopped and pulled out her scope. She wanted to confirm if Aubrey’s father found the light armored vehicle or not. It was still in the same position. The driver’s door was open and the headless zombie was lying on the road nearby. Stacie was immediately suspicious and wondered if they were headed into a trap.

“Is the area safe? Can we proceed?” Aubrey asked close to Stacie’s ear.

Stacie started to pull down her mask to answer, but remembered the eye-watering stench from last time and stopped. She shrugged her shoulders. Once again, she found the area eerily devoid of zombies, but after her last encounter with the zombie who seemed to come out of nowhere, Stacie was not taking any chances. She thoroughly scanned the area with a hand-held motion detection device and for good measure, she scanned the area a second time with a thermal imaging scope to detect any survivors or military personnel. Once she was completely satisfied the area was clear, Stacie put aside her concerns of a possible trap and cautiously approached the rear of the military base where, according to Aubrey, the high-security medical facility was located. She pulled up next to the fence near the entrance to the target destination. The four of them with bolt cutters quickly cut a large hole in the fence and drove through it. Stacie motioned for her three friends to dismount, grab their weapons, and stand against the building. She backed “Greased Lightning” into a small space between two buildings and dismounted. After securing her electric motorbike, she grabbed her weapon and joined her three friends.

They tried the doorknob and as expected, it was locked. Stacie picked the standard door lock and they stealthily slipped inside. Aubrey led the team inside since she knew the layout of the facility. Chloe was behind her, then Beca, and then Stacie covering the rear.

Beca turned around and softly said to Stacie, “Dude, you’re just full of surprises.”

Stacie wickedly grinned, “You don’t know the half of it.”

As before, the door to the medical facility was unlocked and the door to the holding cell required a card key. Aubrey found the card key in the same place she left it and wondered if anyone entered the medical facility since she left. She opened the holding cell door and she, Chloe, and Beca searched it, while Stacie stood guard at the open holding cell door.

Aubrey located the file folders she came for and stuffed them in her bag. After her near-fatal experience with the zombie, thanks to the backpack on her back, she opted to bring a canvas bag this time. She searched the tall cabinet she missed the last time and found more medical supplies they could use at the compound, so she threw them in her bag as well. As Stacie feared, Chloe began having flashbacks in the holding cell, but thanks to their meticulous planning, Beca was prepared and able to help her girlfriend channel the trauma. Together, they found the military doctor’s secret files and notes, which they stuffed in their backpacks. Once they felt they found everything they came for, they moved out. Again, Aubrey led the team out with Stacie bringing up the rear. They were almost to the building’s exit when a passing soldier discovered them.

“STOP!”

“Shit,” Beca muttered.

In accordance with their plan, Beca and Chloe bolted through the building’s exit without looking back, but Aubrey defied the plan and stayed to help Stacie. When the soldier recognized Aubrey, he lowered his weapon.

“Miss Posen, what are you doing here?” the soldier asked.

“I came back for something I forgot,” Aubrey sweetly answered and sidled up to the young man with her hands behind her back.

Stacie kept her machete hidden behind her leg as she slowly reached for the handgun holstered in the small of her back. Unfortunately, the movement caught the soldier’s attention.

“Hey! You there! Stop!” the soldier commanded and pointed his weapon at Stacie.

In the blink of an eye, Aubrey jabbed a syringe into the soldier’s neck and pressed down on the plunger. His eyes immediately rolled back and he collapsed.

“What the hell did you stick him with?” Stacie asked.

“It was the stuff the military doctor was using to knock out his test subjects whenever they grew uncontrollable,” Aubrey answered.

Stacie kissed Aubrey, “Now let’s get out of here!”

As Stacie pulled Aubrey out of the building, the blonde scooped up the bag she dropped earlier near the door. When they got outside, they found Beca and Chloe waiting with “Greased Lightning.” As soon as Beca and Chloe saw their missing friends, they jumped into the wagon. Stacie jumped on the electric motorbike with Aubrey behind her and zipped through the hole in the fence towards home.

During the entire trip back, everyone except Stacie continually looked behind them. As soon as they pulled up to the front gate, Beca jumped out of the wagon. She powered off the gate’s high voltage feature, then unlocked and opened it. After Stacie drove into the yard, Beca secured the gate and powered the high voltage feature back on. Once everyone settled in, they convened in the security room and went over everything they picked up at the military base. Aubrey emptied her bag onto the table first.

After seeing all the medical supplies in her bag, Beca laughed, “Aubrey, we now have enough supplies to open our own hospital.”

Stacie put all the supplies off to the side and they read the contents of all the file folders.

Closing the last file folder she had to read, Stacie concluded, “I was right. He continued his experiments on others after losing Chloe, but Z2012 didn’t work on them. In fact, it made them extremely violent and uncontrollable.”

“But why did Z2012 work on Chloe?” Beca asked.

“I can’t say with absolute certainty, but I think it was because she wasn’t infected through a bite. All the other test subjects were and some were already zombies,” Stacie theorized.

Beca and Chloe emptied their backpacks onto the table next, since everything they picked up came from the same hidden filing cabinet.

“According to his personal notes, one of the test subjects went on a rampage and killed several medical techs before being killed,” Beca stated.

“So _that’s_ how the military base was compromised,” Aubrey concluded.

Chloe gasped and closed the notebook she was reading, “Aubrey, I think you should read this,” and slid it over to her.

The puzzled blonde picked up the notebook and began reading. About five minutes later, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Aubrey?” Stacie called.

Chloe touched Beca’s arm to get her attention and motioned for them to leave. Beca nodded and they quietly left the security room. Chloe made a beeline to their bedroom with Beca in tow. Once inside, the obviously upset redhead grabbed and tightly hugged Beca.

“Chlo…Chlo…I…can’t…breathe,” Beca gasped.

Chloe released Beca and sat down on the edge of their bed.

Beca sat down next to her and asked, “What did you read that upset you this much?”

“Colonel Posen…was the one…who received the Atlanta shipment…of the zombie virus that was used on the protesters,” Chloe stumbled through, trying to process the information as it came out of her mouth.

“WHAT?” Beca shot to her feet.

“Beca, please sit down,” Chloe requested.

Beca sat back down next to Chloe.

“There’s more. According to the information in the notebook, an executive order was issued for the deployment of the zombie virus in several major cities in the United States, as well as in England, France, and Germany,” Chloe stated.

“What the fuck?” Beca exclaimed, “I know the presi-dunce is a major idiot, but even _he_ had to know what the zombie virus would do.”

Chloe shook her head, “It seems the National Security Advisor withheld that information from the president. If we weren’t in a global pandemic, all the files we picked up would’ve been compelling evidence against the United States in an International Military Tribunal.”

“I wonder if we should burn it?” Beca pondered.

Once reality set in, Chloe panicked, “Beca! What are we going to do? This is the end of the world!”

Beca quickly took Chloe in her arms and assured, “Chlo, we’ll be fine. Thanks to Stacie, we are safe here.”

Inside the security room, a similar scenario with the same ending played out. Outside, several miles away, Colonel Posen and a military detail headed toward the compound.


	30. “Omnia vincit amor.” – Virgil (70 BC – 19 BC)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: The “Pitch Perfect” screenplay was written by Kay Cannon and the movie franchise is owned by Gold Circle Films. The song “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” was written by Patty Smyth and Glen Burtnik. The author of this fanfiction does not profit, in any way, from the story. All creative rights to the characters and titles belong to their original creator(s).
> 
> AUTHOR’S NOTES: My dear readers, we have come to the end of this ride. Thank you for reading and reviewing. I appreciate it. As they say in my favorite amusement parks, “Please stay seated until the ride comes to a full and complete stop.”

That night in the master bedroom, Beca stared at the ceiling in the dark as Chloe slumbered against the pensive brunette’s chest. Everything they read swirled around in her head, barring her from joining her girlfriend in the land of dreams. She was still trying to wrap her brain around the fact someone could be **so** evil, they unleashed hell on earth with the flick of their wrist. Above all, she could not believe that _someone_ was the president. Chloe stirred and snuggled further into Beca. The smiling brunette kissed the top of her girlfriend’s head and pulled Chloe closer to her.

“I love you, Chlo. I don’t want to live in a world without you,” Beca softly whispered and closed her eyes.

A bit later, Chloe leaned up and kissed Beca on the lips, “I love you too.”

Upstairs, Aubrey and Stacie took turns keeping vigil in the turret. After reading everything they gathered at the military base, they both agreed they were no longer safe. Stacie was asleep and Aubrey was on watch when she saw the military detail heading to the compound. She shook Stacie awake. The adrenaline-fueled brunette grabbed the assault rifle and night-vision goggles next to the bed.

As she slipped her hands-free walkie-talkie earpiece on, she asked, “How far out?”

“About fifteen to a half an hour,” Aubrey answered.

Stacie ran downstairs, knocked on the master bedroom door, counted to three, and walked in.

“Beca! Chloe! Get up! We’ve got military coming in thirty! Night defense!” Stacie announced and ran out to the front door.

She turned off the outside motion-detector lights on her way out the front door.

Beca and Chloe flew out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and ran to their assigned defense positions. Chloe ran upstairs, grabbed her sniper rifle out of the cabinet, and took her position in the turret. Beca grabbed her assault rifle at the foot of the bed, slipped on her night-vision goggles, hands-free walkie-talkie earpiece, and ran outside to her camouflaged protective barrier.

Several minutes later, a military truck pulled up in front of the compound gate, stopped, and four soldiers jumped out the back. They took up defensive positions around the front of the compound.

Stacie switched her earpiece to Aubrey’s channel, “Hon, is there a detail in the back?”

“No. Just the one in front,” Aubrey answered.

“Just in case, keep an eye on the back,” Stacie requested.

“Of course,” Aubrey laughed.

Stacie switched to Beca’s channel, “There are four soldiers in defensive positions in front. Two each.”

“Roger,” Beca answered.

After several more minutes, Colonel Posen stepped out from the passenger side and called out, “Aubrey?”

“Yes?” Aubrey answered through the speaker system Stacie and Beca installed while upgrading the compound for the zombie apocalypse.

“I know you and your friends broke into the base and took a few things from the medical facility. You can keep the medical supplies, but I want the medical records back,” Colonel Posen stated.

“Why?” Aubrey asked.

“You _know_ why,” Colonel Posen growled.

At that moment, Stacie realized her intuition was correct and it _was_ a trap back then; Not a trap to ensnare, but one to help Colonel Posen find the hidden medical records.

“Why does it matter? Thanks to our idiotic president, there won’t be any world left to hold an International Military Tribunal, so you’ll never be brought to justice,” Beca yelled from behind her camouflaged protective barrier.

“I **want** those records!” Colonel Posen yelled.

“Or what? You’ll kill your own daughter?” Aubrey asked.

Colonel Posen did not speak for almost a full minute before answering, “My orders from the Pentagon are very clear on this matter.”

All four friends flipped off the safety switches on their weapons.

“Go back and never return,” Stacie yelled.

“Really?” Colonel Posen challenged.

A single warning shot rang out, followed by the sound of a man screaming. The four friends immediately checked in with each other to confirm the shot was just Stacie’s warning shot. Once confirmed, they immediately knew what was about to happen to the military detail.

“Colonel Posen, you and your men are about to become zombie chow,” Beca warned.

Another man screamed and then another. Colonel Posen frantically looked around him and swiftly got back in the military truck. As the truck quickly retreated backward, the fourth soldier ran towards the truck, begging it to stop. He tripped and was immediately descended upon.

Beca crawled over to Stacie, “Shit, it looks like a small horde. Should we help?”

“It’s too late for the soldiers,” Stacie sadly answered.

“What about Colonel Posen?” Beca asked and added, “You know he’ll be back.”

Before Stacie could make a decision, someone upstairs made it for her. Two shots rang out and the retreating truck exploded.

“FUCK!” Beca yelled as she and Stacie hunkered down behind the camouflaged protective barrier.

Luckily, the truck was far away from the compound when it exploded and lured the zombies away. After a few minutes, Beca and Stacie stood up. They watched zombie shadows descend on the burning truck and catch on fire.

“I hope they **all** turn into crispy critters,” Beca growled.

After a few minutes, Stacie and Beca walked into the house. They were immediately greeted by their girlfriends. Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca and her assault rifle.

“Chlo…,” Beca struggled to free the assault rifle digging into her arm.

Chloe let go of Beca.

“Who fired on the military truck?” Stacie asked.

“We both did,” Aubrey and Chloe answered in unison.

“It was running backward, making it difficult to shoot the gas tank, so I shot the engine to slow it down and Chloe shot a tracer round into the gas tank,” Aubrey elaborated.

“WOW! That was a great shot,” Beca hugged Chloe.

Stacie arched an eyebrow and stated, “I don’t remember seeing any tracer rounds in our ammunition stock.”

“I found some at the military base the first time I was there and brought it back,” Aubrey smiled.

Stacie smiled and hugged Aubrey, “My little ferret.”

Aubrey kissed Stacie on the cheek.

“We’d better get some sleep. We have one hell of a cleanup job tomorrow,” Stacie announced.

Beca and Chloe bid their friends a good night and headed to their bedroom. Beca put all her equipment away exactly where she got them. Chloe smiled from the bed and piqued Beca’s curiosity.

“What?”

“You treat that equipment with the same care as your music equipment,” Chloe answered.

Beca thought about it and laughed, “Yeah.”

The adrenaline-fueled brunette dove into bed and tackled Chloe. She jokingly covered her girlfriend’s face with kisses, making Chloe laugh. This quickly escalated into more intimate kisses.

Upstairs, Stacie and Aubrey cuddled in bed. Their bedroom was dimly lit by the moonlight shining through the windows left uncovered by Aubrey and Chloe.

“Hon, why did you choose to stop the truck?” Stacie asked.

“You heard my dad. He was ready to kill _me_ for those records. I couldn’t allow him to kill us,” Aubrey bravely stated and kissed Stacie.

“I guess we really have become a family,” Stacie smiled.

A loud crash echoed downstairs.

“Sounds like the _kids_ aren’t asleep,” Aubrey laughed.

“Can’t say I blame them. I’m still on an adrenaline high too,” Stacie waggled her eyebrows.

Aubrey pounced on Stacie and gave her girlfriend a long, passionate kiss.

The next morning, everyone slept in late. After brunch, Beca, Chloe, and Stacie went outside to assess what Beca called, “The Zombie Cookout.” Stacie insisted Aubrey stay inside. She did not want her girlfriend traumatized by the sight of her father’s charred remains. As the three approached the burned out military truck, they had to step over several charred zombie bodies.

“Looks like the explosion and fire took out the small horde as well,” Beca stated.

They decided to leave the charred remains as a warning since it was far enough away from the compound.

Upon their return, Aubrey told them she uncovered something in the records and asked everyone to gather in the security room.

“While everyone was gone, I read through the military reports again, searching for the reason why my dad was willing to kill for the records. It was buried in a folder marked, “Accounting.” This is why we missed it. The military scientists who created the original zombie virus also created a cure. This is the formula for the cure,” Aubrey held up a sheet of paper, “However, as we all know, viruses mutate, so I don’t know if this will still work.”

Everyone discussed whether or not to try and replicate the formula. It was unanimously decided since Z2012 worked for them, they would hold off for now.

After Beca and Chloe left the security room, Aubrey asked Stacie, “Were you able to get what I asked for?”

“Yes. I was able to get it after I sent Beca and Chloe to search the back of the burned out truck,” Stacie handed Aubrey the military tobacco tin with Colonel Posen’s military insignia engraved on the cover.

“My dad gave me this box when I was little,” Aubrey opened the box and peered at her father’s ashes inside, “He told me it was a secret place to keep my _treasures_. Thank you for bringing him home to me.”

Silent tears ran down Aubrey’s cheeks. Stacie wrapped Aubrey in her arms and held her tight.


End file.
